Alys Conran's debut novel Pigeon which won the Wales Book of the Year 2017 is being adapted into a stage play, which will be touring across Wales in spring 2023.
If your imagination is your only escape, how long before reality catches up with you? || Am faint mae’n bosib dianc drwy’r dychymyg cyn gorfod wynebu realiti?
Pigeon is brave, funny and a bit dangerous, and there’s no one else his best friend Iola would rather spend time with. But life is far from sweet. Pigeon is desperate to escape the life that awaits him at home every night. One day, his walls come crashing down and life changes forever. || Mae Pijin yn ddewr, doniol a braidd yn beryglus, ac mae ei ffrind gore Iola wrth ei bodd yn ei gwmni. Ond mae bywyd ymhell o fod yn felys. Mae’n dyheu am ddianc o’r bywyd sy’n aros amdano wrth fynd adref bob nos. Un dydd, mae ei waliau’n chwalu’n deilchion a bywyd ar fin newid am byth.
Exciting news my friends!
— Alys Conran (@alysconran) July 12, 2022
My first novel Pijin | Pigeon comes to the stage!!!
A fantastic stageplay by @bethanmarlow @TheatrGenCymru & @theatriolo
I can't wait to see it.
Get a ticket! https://t.co/rGZAzmz5H7
Pijin | Pigeon is a Theatr Gendlaethol Cymru and Theatr Iolo co-production in association with Pontio and has been adapted for the stage by Bethan Marlow. || Cyd-gynhyrchiad @theatrgencymru + @theatriolo mewn cydweithrediad â @pontiobangor. Mae Pijin | Pigeon wedi cael ei addasu gan Bethan Marlow.
When Conran's novel was published back in 2016 it marked an exciting Welsh literary first as both the English original Pigeon and its translated counterpart Pijin (translated by Sian Northey) were released on the same day. It was an important creative decision when publishing Conran's novel as language and identity formed one of the core themes of the story.
Welsh dialogue is dispersed throughout the coming of age novel, reflecting the protagonist's ever changing relationship to his small hometown in north Wales and Welsh culture. Interestingly the bilingual nature of Conran's writing posed some difficult choices when developing the Welsh translation of Pigeon. Lleucu Siencyn discussed the "peculiar" of this during her review of Pigeon and Pijin for The Welsh Agenda.
"How could Sian [Northey] convey these potentially alien-sounding words back to Welsh? What happens when a dialogue appears in the language it was meant to be originally – does it lose the impact and subtlety of the English version?" - Read full article here.
The duality between the Welsh and English language within Conran's powerful novel will be reflected in Marlow's adaptation with Welsh and English carefully interwoven throughout in addition to using integrated bilingual captions.
Get ahead of the game and read Pigeon| Pijin prior to the release of the stage play adaptation. Available in e-book and audiobook form and in paperback from all good bookshops.
To celebrate the upcoming play, this weekend we are offering 20% off orders of Pigeon and Pijin if ordered directly from our website and with UK postage only 99pp, it is a deal to good to be missed! Just use code - PIGEON20. Offer ends midnight 17/7/22.
We are truly delighted and we can't wait to see Conran's writing and characters to come to life on the stage. You can book your tickets here.
