An astronaut! That’s what I’m going to be.
MEGAN
A dancer, on Strictly!
OTHER CHILDREN
A goalkeeper, for Chelsea.
A pilot, or a hairdresser
A fish-and-chip man
A teacher
An accountant, if I can
A rugby player
Children from 1966 including TOMOS, ROB, BETHAN and
SUZY join in the game. The calling out of occupations becomes
a pattern of voices from then and now,
a mosaic of lives hoped for and never lived.
A freerunner
A singer
A soldier
A nurse
A farmer
A miner
A lorry driver
A dinner lady
ROB
A footballer
A police man
SUZY
An actress
BETHAN
A doctor
A milkman
A postman
An artist
A ballet dancer, and really soon.
A dentist
A barrister in court
The last child to call out is TOMOS.
TOMOS
The first man on the moon, an astronaut!
Acknowledgements
The Green Hollow was originally commissioned by BBC Cymru Wales and produced by BBC Studios Wales in association with VOX Pictures. I am especially grateful to Bethan Jones and Jenna Robbins for their support in the research and writing of the script, and to Pip Broughton and the cast for bringing it to the screen with such sensitivity and skill. None of this, however, would have been possible without the insights and generosity of those I interviewed as part of my research, and as such I would like to thank the following individuals and organisations: Janett Bickley, Jeff Edwards, Gaynor Madgwick, Gurraj Mann, Gurvinder Mann, Bernard Thomas, Mark Williams, Stephanie Davies, Professor Sir Mansel Aylward, Dave Evans, Gwyneth Evans, Sam Knight, Owen Money, Simone Roden and the children, teachers and parents of Ynysowen Primary School, Aberfan Community Library, Merthyr Central Library, Merthyr Leisure Trust, The Aberfan Wives Group, Trinity Childcare and Family Centre, Ynysowen Male Voice Choir. Diolch o galon pawb.
About the Author
Owen Sheers is a poet, novelist and playwright. Twice winner of the Wales Book of the Year, his books of poetry include Skirrid Hill, winner of a Somerset Maugham Award, and the verse drama Pink Mist, winner of the Hay Festival Poetry Medal and the Wales Book of the Year. In 2018, he was the recipient of the Wilfred Owen Poetry Award. Owen’s theatrical work includes The Two Worlds of Charlie F., winner of the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, Mametz, and National Theatre Wales’s seventy-two hour The Passion. He lives in Wales with his wife and two daughters.
Also by the Author
non-fiction
THE DUST DIARIES
CALON
poetry
THE BLUE BOOK
SKIRRID HILL
A POET’S GUIDE TO BRITAIN (ED.)
PINK MIST
fiction
RESISTANCE
WHITE RAVENS
THE GOSPEL OF US
I SAW A MAN
plays
THE PASSION
THE TWO WORLDS OF CHARLIE F.
MAMETZ
Copyright
First published in the UK in 2018
by Faber & Faber Ltd
Bloomsbury House
74–77 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DA
This ebook edition first published in 2018
All rights reserved
© Owen Sheers, 2018
Cover design by Faber
Jacket artwork @ Marcus James 2017
The right of Owen Sheers to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
As seen on the BBC
BBC logo © BBC 2017
BBC and the BBC logo are trademarks of the British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under licence.
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly
ISBN 978–0–571–33909–9
