| “There Will Only Be One D-H” |
In Memory |
| Dafydd Hywel , Stage and Screen , March 30, 2023 |
Dafydd Hywel and I met just once. The occasion surprisingly was not an auditorium but a meeting room and we were side by side as members of an audience. Some actors can move anonymously in a crowd. That was not so with Dafydd Hywel who was instantly recognisable. The event that brought us together was at Taliesin in Swansea; Karl Francis was looking back on his career in film and television. Francis had directed Dafydd Hywel searingly in “Yr Alcoholig Llon.” After hearing “Above Us the Earth” and “Giro City” remembered it was natural that we fell to talking about the 1980s, that decade of turbulence and bitter politics. His memories in conversation forty years, fiery and passionate, were little diluted by the passage of thirty-five years. The day stayed on in the memory for another reason. The date was 26th February 2020; as an audience we were innocent of what was to come. Within a fortnight theatre was collapsing mid-tour, venues were being locked. Four weeks on and we were sealed in solitude. At the end of that year Hywel Dafydd led a news story about a Christmas season bereft of public gathering. On 20th December BBC Wales wrote “Dafydd Hywel: Dim Panto am y tro cyntaf mewn 40 mlynedd.” “Yr adeg yma o'r flwyddyn fel arfer mae Dafydd Hywel yn ei chanol hi gydag ymarferion a pherfformiadau Panto. Ond am y tro cyntaf ers bron 40 mlynedd, mae'r llwyfan yn wag, y daith wedi ei gohirio ac mae'n Nadolig tawel i'r actor a'r cyfarwyddwr. "Fi wedi dweud ers 10 mlynedd mod i'n rhoi'r gorau iddi... ond fi yn methu fe i ddweud y gwir," meddai'r actor sydd wedi bod yn aelod o gast Pobol y Cwm a serennu mewn ffilmau fel Yr Alcoholig Llon. “Mae panto'r cwmni theatr mae'n brif weithredwr arno, Cwmni Mega, yn un o'r sioeau sydd wedi cael eu gohirio y Nadolig yma oherwydd y pandemig. “Fel arfer fe fyddai'r criw wedi bod yn ymarfer ers mis Hydref ac yn teithio theatrau Cymru o ddechrau Rhagfyr tan y penwythnos cyn y Nadolig gyda dwy sioe bron bob dydd. “Maen nhw'n cael digon o hwyl yr un pryd hefyd wrth deithio a Dafydd Hywel - neu DH i bawb yn y busnes - fel arfer yn dathlu ei ben-blwydd ar 4 Rhagfyr tra maen nhw ar y daith. "Ni'n cael parti mawr wedyn fel arfer. Mae'n od iawn heb hwnna 'leni," meddai'r actor sy'n dathlu ei ben-blwydd yn 75 mlwydd oed. "Ni'n cael lot o sbri. "Mae cwpl o ffrindie sy'n gweld fi wedi blino amser fi'n mynd ar daith ond ma fe yn od heb y buzz a dweud y gwir." * * * * The BBC's tribute on 24th March read: “Dafydd Hywel, who starred in Stella, Pobol y Cwm and Keeping Faith/Un Bore Mercher, has died at the age of 77. “Originally from Garnant, near Ammanford, he had acted on stage, in film and on television, in Welsh and English productions since the 1960s. “He had leading roles in several Welsh productions, most memorably playing the colourful Jac Daniels in Pobol y Cwm. “In tributes from friends and other actors, he was called an "an amazing actor and a man of great principles". “Hywel appeared on the children's programme Miri Mawr as Caleb y Twrch, and had leading roles in several Welsh series including Y Pris and Pen Talar, the films Ar Ddu a Gwyn, Rhosyn a Rhith and Rhag Pob Brad. “He also portrayed the cinema pioneer William Haggar in the bilingual co-production A Penny for Your Dreams/I Fro Breuddwydion. “In English, he played alongside Samuel L Jackson and Dame Judi Dench in the 2016 Tim Burton film Miss Peregerine's [sic] Home for Peculiar Children. “For English television he had roles in The Indian Doctor, The Bill and Holby City and he recently played Glen Brennig in the comedy drama series Stella. “In the third series of The Crown, he played the shop owner in the episode that told the story of the Aberfan disaster. “He told BBC Radio Cymru's Beti a'i Pobol programme in 2004 that the role he most enjoyed playing was Mad Dan in Richard Burton's Christmas Story. “Hywel was chief executive of Cwmni Mega, which has produced Welsh language pantomimes since 1994. He published his autobiography Hunangofiant Alff Garnant in 2013. “Fellow actors have paid tributes to Hywel. "Today's news is a blow," said John Pierce Jones, who had known Hywel since the 1970s, adding: "We were great friends for years." "Dafydd was an amazing actor and a man of great principles," he said. "He was a very dear friend, he's done so much for Wales and the Welsh language," said Dewi Pws. "He has left his mark - there will only be one DH." “Rhuanedd Richards, director of BBC Cymru Wales, said: "Dafydd Hywel's immense contribution to the world of drama in Wales, whether on television or in the theatre, is unmistakable. "Many of us will remember him as Jac Daniels on Pobol y Cwm, one of the leading characters in the early years of the series. "He also entertained audiences across Britain in films including the classic Off to Philadelphia in the Morning with Sian Phillips and popular series such as Keeping Faith/Un Bore Mercher, The Indian Doctor and Holby City. "We thank him today for his contribution while sending our sincere condolences to his family and friends." “Cefin Campbell MS said on social media that Mr Hywel was a dear friend. "We lost one of the great characters of Wales today. Great memories of you Hywel aka DH/Alf Garnant - we'll have a pint sometime again," he said.” Dafydd Hywel 4th December 1945 – 23rd March 2023 Extracts cited, with acknowledgements, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/cymrufyw/55276149 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65057779 Illustration: Dafydd Hywel as Mikey in Rhag Pob Brad |
Reviewed by: Adam Somerset |
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