Performer Name: Still Here Productions Ltd in association with 20 South Street

Show Name: John Bevan: Team Player

Show Description

1971. At 20 years old, John Bevan is the youngest member of the British Lions team touring New Zealand to defeat the mighty All Blacks. What’s it like to live this dream? And what happens afterwards? Back in the real world, jobs and money are scarce. Can the film ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ inspire change? A new country. A new game. Will this lead to success or the end of a life in rugby? Mari Lloyd’s new solo play explores three significant years in the sporting career of the legendary Welsh rugby player. This new production builds on the successful first collaboration of playwright Mari Lloyd and director/producer Julia Stubbs on Mari’s debut play, Still Here. Its acclaimed 2025 revival, which toured South Wales, was named one of The Edit’s 'Top 20 Shows We Saw Across Wales'. Mari Lloyd says... "I hadn’t set out to write a play about rugby or a rugby player, although my previous play, Still Here had been set in and around a boxing gym. Maybe I was in a sporting mindset. Back home in Wales, there's still huge interest and nostalgia for the rugby of the 1970s, a golden time, right - maybe. But what was it really like? I was lucky enough to interview John Bevan and hear about him playing for Wales, the Lions and the Barbarians before he made the difficult decision to 'go North' and play rugby league. JB felt that rugby as a game had saved him, and going North made him grow up - from a Rhondda kid who always had to win to being a team player in another country. Researching my boxing play, I was fascinated by the role of sport and sporting clubs in fostering a sense of identity, belonging and community, and maybe that’s what we’re all looking for."

Image for show
We will be bringing our own lighting on tour, so we won't need the use of the venue's lighting rig.
We will be bringing a MacBook on tour to run the soundscape used in the production, and so we will just need to connect to the venue's sound system or PA.
We supply A3/A4 posters, A5 flyers and a media pack with a press release and links to video promos, trailers, and production photography.
Still Here Productions is an independent Theatre Production Company focusing on new writing and innovative storytelling, led by director/producer Julia Stubbs and playwright Mari Lloyd. Their inaugural production of Mari's debut play, STILL HERE, premiered to excellent reviews from critics and audiences at the London Fringe in 2023 and received an award nomination for its two young Welsh actors. The production was revived with its original cast in 2025 to further acclaim, touring to South Wales, London and Liverpool. Mari Lloyd, originally from the Rhondda Valley where much of her family still lives, is now based in Merseyside. After over 20 years in the NHS, she turned to writing and has since made a notable impact. Her plays include THE MATCH and LAST TANGO AT ST LEONARDS (Liverpool Write Now Festival), THREE WOMEN (Manchester 24:7 Festival), and ELEGY (Liverpool Fringe Festival). Her plays EVIDENCE and CHARITY have also been featured in showcases on the London Fringe, and LOOKING OUT FOR JACK was longlisted for the esteemed Papatango New Writing Prize. Mari stays grounded and sane by engaging with a local boxing gym. Julia Stubbs Hughes is the Artistic Director of 20 South Street and works professionally as a theatre director under the name Julia Stubbs. Her recent directing credits include a revival of Simon Longman's SPARKS (Upper Hand Theatre Company, London Fringe), which earned multiple 4-star reviews, the well-received premiere production of WHAT I REALLY THINK OF MY HUSBAND: THOMAS HARDY AND HIS WIVES by David Pinner (And Tomorrow Theatre Company, London Fringe), and a national tour of Mark Glentworth’s SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS, which received an OffFest award nomination. Julia was formerly the Joint Artistic Director of the new writing/new work company Weaver Hughes Ensemble (1997-2009), whose acclaimed productions included work by Jack Thorne, Don DeLillo, Steve Waters, and Rhiannon Tise.