Inspired by Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas In Wales this seasonal comedy drama penned by comedian Mark Watson is a montage of many idyllic, colourful festive seasons rolled into one dream.
But for young Owen Rhys, growing up in a terraced house in ’80s South Wales, Christmas is a less poetic affair – though just as eventful.
Every Christmas, the peace and quiet of Owen’s house, where he lives with his parents, is shattered by the arrival of Owen’s two uncles and his cousin Maurice.
In a series of glimpses from three Christmases across the decade, A Child’s Christmases In Wales shows Owen and Maurice grow from boys into young men, while his dad and uncles seem to regress to a childhood of sibling rivalry and Owen’s mum watches in despair. The years change, but the Christmas routine remains the same.
Dad (Mark Lewis Jones) and his older brother, Hugh (Steve Speirs), bicker and undermine each other; Hugh’s son Maurice and Owen are forced into competitive games which play out their respective fathers’ rivalries; the youngest brother, the black sheep Gorwel (Paul Kaye), arrives late, doles out badly-judged presents, and usually destroys the bathroom; while Owen’s mother Brenda (Ruth Jones) tries to prevent everything from going to pieces.
Yet despite all this antagonism, there is a peculiar joy in the certainty they couldn’t really have Christmas without the family.
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