A huge live TV drama set in Wales is to be broadcast on Sky and across social media this autumn. GALWAD: A Story From Our Future is a human story of contemporary Wales that offers a glimpse into the future and asks what would happen if the future tried to contact us. It stars actors from The Pembrokeshire Murders, EastEnders and His Dark Materials amongst others.
From Monday, September 26, audiences can follow the story - via unannounced segments on S4C and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok - as it moves between Wales today and 30 years into the future.
The story culminates in a four-hour broadcast on Sky Arts and Freeview offering the chance to catch-up on the week’s events in Swansea, Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Ffestiniog before the final live broadcast from Blaenau Ffestiniog and a 60-minute drama set in the future.
Read more: Eurovision 2023 to take place in UK as organisers look for host city
GALWAD began with a ‘world-building’ process led by Alex McDowell (Minority Report) with 120 people from across Wales. It is inspired by the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, which puts the future of young people at the heart of policy decisions and invites audiences to explore the moral dilemmas and possibilities of a future impacted by a 1.8-degree rise in global temperatures and widespread social change.
The TV drama, produced by Wales-based production company Mad as Birds, broadcasts on Sunday, October 2 on Sky Arts. Casting includes Alexandria Riley and Aisha-May Hunte who both play the part of the central character, Efa. Alexandria is best known for her roles in The Pembrokeshire Murders, The End of the F**king World and In My Skin. Aisha-May has appeared in His Dark Materials, Enid A Lucy and The Left Behind.
They are joined by Matthew Aubrey (Birdsong, War Horse and Black Mirror) and Nitin Ganatra (EastEnders, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). Other cast members in the 2052 cast include Andria Doherty (It’s a Sin), Nadeem Islam, Rhoda Montemayor, Jenna Preece and Boo Golding.
The young cast, who join Aisha-May to perform GALWAD LIVE throughout the week from September 26 includes Ciaran O’Breen, Ifan Coyle, Gabin Kongolo, Meg Lewis and Londiwe Mthembu. Rhodri Meilir (In My Skin and Craith/Hidden) will undertake a key role in the live broadcast from Blaenau Ffestiniog on October 2.
Claire Doherty, Creative Director, GALWAD, said: “Now more than ever we need new and unexpected stories of the future. GALWAD represents the next generation of storytelling and storytellers from Wales. It is a creative and collective act of the imagination which builds on Wales’ rich history of site-specific performance and brings that roaring into the digital and streaming age. GALWAD is as much a story of how we might respond if we glimpsed our future, as it is a vivid imagining of life in 2052.”
GALWAD is commissioned by Creative Wales as part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, brings together a 200-strong team of Wales’ boldest creative talent. For more information about GALWAD and how to follow the story as it develops, click here.
Read next:
- Fans of axed soap Neighbours told it will 'end on an incredible high'
- There’s a Neighbours tour and it’s coming to Cardiff
- Neighbours: Channel 5 reveals more 90s stars joining Kylie and Jason in final episode
- Suranne Jones issues long statement as her show Gentleman Jack is cancelled
- How you can appear on Dinner Date, Pointless, MasterChef and other TV favourites
