Am-dram is a staple of Welsh theatre: an essential way for grassroots art to get made, and for domestic culture to flourish and blossom amid the rising number of arts organisations led by individuals from England and other parts of the UK. When I saw that Barry’s A48 Theatre were putting on a play by Owen Thomas, scriptwriter for Grav – which won a Welsh Theatre Award and BAFTA Cymru gong as a play before being turned into a short film – I was excited to see the results.
The Bet is a light-hearted comedy set in Nantgaredig, mid-Wales – home to Norton’s Coin, a racehorse. It’s 1990, and the whole village is betting on their local steed to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The Man, our protagonist, offers to place the bets for them, as he’s very familiar to a betting shop. On his way, he decides that as the horse has no chance of winning – small, not trained for big races – he may as well keep the punters’ bets for himself. Norton’s Coin comes in at 100/1 odds, and panic ensues.
Thomas’ writing draws on regional playwrighting from across the last century, pulling poetic influence from John Godber and Dylan Thomas, as well as comic surrealism from Frank Vickery. The writing is light, airy and well-paced – refreshing in the context of many of the more serious works we’ve seen post-pandemic.
As expected with am-dram, some of the staging and performance is stilted and could benefit from more dynamic movement. Writer Owen Thomas and director Ray Thomas, decided to keep the company onstage throughout most of the piece, each with their own seat and position, in the style of a Greek chorus. This works in some places, but the energy drops frequently without the use of movement to drive Owen Thomas’ punchy story-telling style. There are some moments of real glittering humour from the whole cast, however, and overall they’re really enjoyable to watch.

The amateur company is headed by professional Dion Davies, seen in Torchwood and Stella among many other roles. His presence is warm and welcoming, and he plays the likeable anti-hero well. Davies works to support the cast without overshadowing them, and his rapport with the audience is wonderful. It is, again, a breath of fresh air to have a protagonist like him in the current theatrical moment: mischievous, easy-going and most of all funny.
As I say, the play is not without its flaws. Some of the writing and staging is a little clunky, the moral is hammered into you harder than a Christian morality play, and some of the performances can be a little undercooked at points. But The Bet made me smile, even laugh, and like much of the theatre I’ve really loved from the last year is unapologetically Welsh. It’s new writing by a Welsh playwright who isn’t one of the handful of Welsh playwrights we ever seem to hear from. You should go and see it: it may well make you smile too.
The Bet, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, Tue 7 Mar
On until Sat 11 Mar. Tickets: £16/£12. Info: here
words HARI BERROW
Want more stage?
The latest reviews, interviews, previews and features, from Wales and beyond.