{"id":30105,"date":"2015-12-10T23:23:54","date_gmt":"2015-12-10T23:23:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=30105"},"modified":"2015-12-10T23:23:54","modified_gmt":"2015-12-10T23:23:54","slug":"depth-comedi-cymraeg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/","title":{"rendered":"In depth: The rise of comedi Cymraeg"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>After spending 20 years in the shadows of Welsh entertainment, comedi Cymraeg is finally enjoying some time in the spotlight<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Welsh language stand-ups have been telling jokes for 24 years, but with the microphone switched off. Over the past three years, someone has switched it back on.<\/p>\n<p>This latest generation of Welsh stand-up comics is enjoying considerable success. But they perform on the foundations laid by the likes of Daniel Glyn, Gethin Thomas, J\u00e2ms Thomas and Gary Slaymaker who pioneered a new style of stand-up in the early 1990s. Drawing on the sharp-witted American style, they provided a new, edgy alternative to the traditionalist form of Welsh humour.<\/p>\n<p>Now, 24 years on, the current crop has picked up where they left off. Having previously been part of the English language circuit, the likes of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elisjames.com\/\">Elis James<\/a> and Dan Thomas have returned to Wales, leading the resurgence in comedi Cymraeg.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30110\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 468px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/12\/Elis-James.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-30110 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/12\/Elis-James-468x312.jpg\" alt=\"Elis James, The Glee Club, comedi Cymraeg, Cardiff\" width=\"468\" height=\"312\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30110 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/12\/Elis-James-468x312.jpg\" alt=\"Elis James, The Glee Club, comedi Cymraeg, Cardiff\" width=\"468\" height=\"312\" \/><\/noscript><\/a> The poster boy of Welsh stand-up: Elis James pictured performing in front of a packed crowd at The Glee Club, Cardiff on 5 December. Courtesy of Richard Wood, \u00a9Comictog<\/p><\/div>\n<h4>A growing market<\/h4>\n<p>In 1991, the Welsh speaking stand-ups weren\u2019t your average entertainers &#8211; dependent on S4C exposure. Back then they weren\u2019t guaranteed airtime, which meant they would have to take their act into the rugby clubs and communities. But the times have changed. On 19 December, the current poster boy of Welsh comedy Elis James will have an unprecedented hour-long special televised on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.s4c.cymru\/cy\/\">S4C<\/a>. Following this will be the broadcast of a six-part stand-up series in the New Year.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong><em>&#8220;Comedy is the one area of entertainment in Welsh which is actually growing&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Member of the Welsh language circuit Dan Thomas explains, \u201cComedy is the one area of entertainment in Welsh which is actually growing.\u201d Thomas, also a producer for Welsh production company Zeitgeist, believes S4C has got to treat their stand-up viewers like adults in order for comedi Cymraeg to grow.<\/p>\n<p>He and many others weren\u2019t best pleased when S4C decided to bleep out the swearing in the post-watershed broadcast of Tudur Owen\u2019s <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/cymrufyw\/33131120\">Pechu<\/a><\/em> earlier this year. As #pechu set Twitter alight, S4C suffered a backlash from its younger viewers.<\/p>\n<p>The Welsh comedy audience has changed. No longer are they the swear-fearing traditionalists of yesteryear, but a new youthful audience \u2013 brought up on the foul-mouthed comics such as Jack Dee, not the music hall performances of Eric and Ernie. In order to change with the times and their audience, S4C media officer Ffion Rees has revealed that the channel is currently developing upcoming ideas in order to increase the number of their comedy programmes.<\/p>\n<p>Zeitgeist are approaching Welsh speaking comics and offering them shows on the condition that they reach a proficient standard of Welsh within eight months.<\/p>\n<h4>Carry on regardless<\/h4>\n<p>However, the transition isn\u2019t easy for some. Mutations and phrasing can\u2019t be learnt overnight, and for those returning from the English language circuit, it can prove a nightmarish task. Cardiff audiences are quite happy for him to speak imperfect Welsh. \u201cI think some people are fine with it, in fact I think they appreciate the fact that my Welsh is probably as good as theirs \u2013 so not great,\u201d he says. But opinion on this matter is much like Thomas\u2019 Welsh &#8211; fractured. He says that audiences in other places have been offended by the fact. But like his hero, Tony Hancock, Thomas seems to carry on regardless.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30109\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 480px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/12\/Dan-Thomas.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-30109 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/12\/Dan-Thomas-480x270.jpg\" alt=\"Dan Thomas, Cardiff, Zeitgeist, Comedy Cymraeg\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30109 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/12\/Dan-Thomas-480x270.jpg\" alt=\"Dan Thomas, Cardiff, Zeitgeist, Comedy Cymraeg\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" \/><\/noscript><\/a> Funny whatever the language: Dan Thomas performed his first Welsh language show in a room above T\u0177 Tawe \u2013 in front of a crowd of ten people. He has since performed in Welsh on S4C comedy shows such as Gig-l and Gwerthu Allan.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Other comics have started to follow in his footsteps. Brechfa-born comic <a href=\"http:\/\/www.danmitchellcomedy.co.uk\/\">Dan Mitchell<\/a> has also started to perform in Welsh, becoming another recruit to comedi Cymraeg\u2019s ever-growing ranks.\u00a0Mitchell saw the opportunity to perform in Welsh as something exciting and new. \u201cTo get those nerves that you got when you first gig back, it was just like starting all over again,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n<p>At the moment Welsh stand-up comedy is in popular demand. James Allen, manager of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.glee.co.uk\/cardiff\/\">The Glee Club<\/a> in Cardiff, says that he would definitely host a night of Welsh language comedy to capitalise on the growing interest in comedi Cymraeg.<\/p>\n<p>In the past three years, our Welsh language stand-ups have been getting the laughs, applause and recognition they deserve. The likes of Elis James, Dan Thomas, Dan Mitchell and Tudur Owen should be given credit for what they do \u2013 not just as important figures in the world of comedy but of language. After all, it is their work which will help make the language interesting and current for young Welsh people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welsh language stand-ups finally get the laughter they deserve<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":287,"featured_media":30110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,10],"tags":[5344,345,792,4956,5345,5346,3720,5347,5348,5349,1100,426,4958,5350],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-30105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-uncategorized","tag-comedi-cymraeg","tag-comedy","tag-dan-mitchell","tag-dan-thomas","tag-daniel-glyn","tag-elis-james","tag-gary-slaymaker","tag-gethin-thomas","tag-jams-thomas","tag-pechu","tag-s4c","tag-stand-up","tag-the-glee-club","tag-tudur-owen"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>In depth: The rise of comedi Cymraeg - alt.cardiff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After spending 20 years in the shadows of Welsh entertainment, comedi Cymraeg is finally enjoying some time in the spotlight. Welsh language stand-up thrive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In depth: The rise of comedi Cymraeg - alt.cardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After spending 20 years in the shadows of Welsh entertainment, comedi Cymraeg is finally enjoying some time in the spotlight. Welsh language stand-up thrive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"alt.cardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-12-10T23:23:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/12\/Elis-James.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"320\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jonathan Harries\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jonathan Harries\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/\",\"name\":\"In depth: The rise of comedi Cymraeg - alt.cardiff\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/12\/Elis-James.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-10T23:23:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/7679f18cd98ea88cef90666cd10c4397\"},\"description\":\"After spending 20 years in the shadows of Welsh entertainment, comedi Cymraeg is finally enjoying some time in the spotlight. Welsh language stand-up thrive\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/12\/Elis-James.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/12\/Elis-James.jpg\",\"width\":480,\"height\":320},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"In depth: The rise of comedi Cymraeg\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/\",\"name\":\"alt.cardiff\",\"description\":\"If it\u2019s offbeat and in Cardiff then it\u2019s online here.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/7679f18cd98ea88cef90666cd10c4397\",\"name\":\"Jonathan Harries\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/780804d7b947e0dfd522068152e6ebe0\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6ff2b94cf369fe8fc531a88c4dbb2673dda6d2086d4886e6f8cc3526b364607?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6ff2b94cf369fe8fc531a88c4dbb2673dda6d2086d4886e6f8cc3526b364607?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jonathan Harries\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/author\/harries\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"In depth: The rise of comedi Cymraeg - alt.cardiff","description":"After spending 20 years in the shadows of Welsh entertainment, comedi Cymraeg is finally enjoying some time in the spotlight. Welsh language stand-up thrive","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"In depth: The rise of comedi Cymraeg - alt.cardiff","og_description":"After spending 20 years in the shadows of Welsh entertainment, comedi Cymraeg is finally enjoying some time in the spotlight. Welsh language stand-up thrive","og_url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/","og_site_name":"alt.cardiff","article_published_time":"2015-12-10T23:23:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":480,"height":320,"url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/12\/Elis-James.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jonathan Harries","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jonathan Harries","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/","name":"In depth: The rise of comedi Cymraeg - alt.cardiff","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/12\/Elis-James.jpg","datePublished":"2015-12-10T23:23:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/7679f18cd98ea88cef90666cd10c4397"},"description":"After spending 20 years in the shadows of Welsh entertainment, comedi Cymraeg is finally enjoying some time in the spotlight. Welsh language stand-up thrive","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/12\/Elis-James.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/12\/Elis-James.jpg","width":480,"height":320},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2015\/12\/10\/depth-comedi-cymraeg\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"In depth: The rise of comedi Cymraeg"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/","name":"alt.cardiff","description":"If it\u2019s offbeat and in Cardiff then it\u2019s online here.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/7679f18cd98ea88cef90666cd10c4397","name":"Jonathan Harries","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/780804d7b947e0dfd522068152e6ebe0","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6ff2b94cf369fe8fc531a88c4dbb2673dda6d2086d4886e6f8cc3526b364607?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6ff2b94cf369fe8fc531a88c4dbb2673dda6d2086d4886e6f8cc3526b364607?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jonathan Harries"},"url":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/author\/harries\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/287"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30105"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=30105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}