Performer Name: Liam Holmes

Show Name: Mr. Jones: An Aberfan Story

Show Description

OFFIE Award Winner 2026 (Newcomer) • OFFIE Assessors' Choice Award Winner 2025 • Fringe Theatre Awards 2026 Finalist • Pick of the Fringe 2025 • Sold-out runs at Edinburgh Fringe and London's Finborough Theatre • Aberfan, South Wales, 21 October 1966. One of Wales’ darkest days. Self-proclaimed rugby prodigy Mr Jones has just made the kick of his life. As he boasts to local nurse Angharad Price, 150,000 tonnes of coal careen down the hillside towards Pantglas Junior School… Blending drama, poetry, verbatim and first-hand accounts, Mr Jones revisits the harrowing events of the 1966 disaster, when a coal waste tip engulfed the village of Aberfan, claiming the lives of 144 people – including 116 children. Combining a tender love story, rich Valleys humour, and the haunting presence of what was lost, Mr Jones is a poignant and honest portrait of a community irrevocably changed by tragedy, in a universal tale of resilience, heartbreak, and hope.

Yes. The production is physically accessible in a level performance space and has minimal technical demands, allowing it to be staged in a wide range of accessible venues. We are committed to making the production as accessible as possible and are happy to work with venues to accommodate individual access requirements where feasible.
Basic stage lighting required. We can adapt to most venue rigs. Ideally, the ability to change between a few lighting states, although this is not essential. Full blackout required.
The production is technically simple and designed to tour easily. We provide our own laptop running QLab and a dedicated operator for all sound cues. We simply require connection to the venue's in-house PA/speaker system. A performance area of approximately 5m x 4m is ideal, although the production is highly adaptable and can work in a variety of theatre and community spaces. Get-in: Approximately 1.5–2 hours. Get-out: Approximately 45–60 minutes.
Yes. We supply a full promotional pack, including artwork, production photography, posters, social media assets, press materials and copy. We also undertake a significant social media campaign to promote each performance. Any additional marketing support from the venue, particularly through local press and social media channels, is always greatly appreciated and helps maximise audience reach.
Liam Holmes is a Welsh playwright, actor and producer from South Wales. He trained at the Guildford School of Acting and is the recipient of the 2026 OffWestEnd Award for Newcomer. His debut play, Mr. Jones: An Aberfan Story, premiered in London in 2025 before touring South Wales, transferring to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and enjoying an extended Off-West End run at the Finborough Theatre. The production received four OffWestEnd Award nominations, won the OffWestEnd Assessors' Choice Award, and received seven Fringe Theatre Awards nominations, including Best New Play and Writing. He is currently developing the new musical Man 33: A San José Story, as well as We Cry Together, a new play in collaboration with Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY). Alongside his writing, his theatre credits include Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen's House), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Sweet Science, with screen credits including Seconds Out, Claude, Freya and Last Night.