''Noson Lawen'' is a long-running
Welsh language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...
television series, first
broadcast
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...
on
S4C in Wales in 1982.
The term ''Noson Lawen'' translates roughly into English as ''A Merry Evening''. The evening's performance is presented as a live
variety show
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...
, and consists of family entertainment that includes
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
,
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
,
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
,
magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
,
choirs
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
,
sketches and other speciality acts, with a different host every week. Guests have included not only Welsh-speaking performers like
Dafydd Iwan
Dafydd Iwan Jones (born 24 August 1943) is a Welsh singer and nationalist politician who rose to fame writing and performing folk music in the Welsh language. From 2003 to 2010, Iwan was the president of Plaid Cymru, a political party which ad ...
,
Robin Huw Bowen
Robin Huw Bowen (born 1957) is a player of the Welsh triple harp, known in Welsh as ''Telyn Deires'' ( en, Three-row Harp),. He was awarded the Glyndŵr Award in 2000.
Born into the Welsh community in Liverpool, England, into a family originall ...
and
John Ogwen
John Ogwen (born 25 April 1944) is a Welsh actor.
Early life
Ogwen was born and raised in Sling near Bethesda in the Ogwen Valley, from which his surname derives. He attended Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen, then studied English and Welsh at the Universit ...
, but international stars such as the quartet
bond
Bond or bonds may refer to:
Common meanings
* Bond (finance), a type of debt security
* Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States
* Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...
.
In the show's early years the audience were seated on
straw
Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has a number ...
bales, with the various performances taking place on a farm trailer. Over the years, the look and feel of the series has changed dramatically. The audience these days sit on comfortable seats, inside a specially made studio. Noson Lawen is recorded at various centres all over Wales and have offered an early stage to some of the biggest talents in Wales.
External links
Official Website
S4C original programming
Variety television series
1982 British television series debuts
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