Living Lines
FOR OUR WRITERS – SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAYS from SEPTEMBER to DECEMBER, 2025
SEPTEMBER: SESSIONS at 7.30 pm on 09; 23.
OCTOBER: SESSIONS on 07; 21.
NOVEMBER: SESSIONS on 04; 18.
DECEMBER: SESSIONS on 02; 16 (This will be our Christmas Social – readings of original stories; raffle; chats and fun in an informal setting; friends, family, neighbours and potential new Members of “Living Lines” will be very welcome; byo food & drink.
FOR OUR WRITERS – SCHEDULE FOR FEB TO APRIL, 2025
4th February: “Graveyard Voices”. Share writing experiences.
18th February: Workshop on scripts – Read-through for “1896 Exhibition” production.
4th March: Discussion of feedback from workshop. “Graveyard Voices”.
18th March: Stephen – Dialogue workshop
1st April: Owen – Screenwriting workshop
15th April: Graveyard Voices. Share writing.
WHO ARE LIVING LINES?
We are a group of Writers who meet fortnightly in the chapel at Cathays Cemetery, Cardiff, from 7.30 – 9.30pm. There is an annual membership fee of £15 payable to A48 Theatre Company on Oct 1st.
We have members of all ages and levels of skill. We welcome people from all ethnic, social and cultural backgrounds and seek to make everyone feel safe and valued.
We have members who are published writers alongside novices. We act in support of one another and look to provide opportunities for members to feel pride and satisfaction in their work.
WHAT ARE OUR AIMS?
- To enjoy the company of other Writers
- To share our work
- To engage in peer review
- To improve our skills as Writers
- To work collaboratively on particular projects
- To use Cathays Cemetery as a backdrop for some of our work, in particular – “Graveyard Voices”.
We organise Fund-Raising Projects; our annual sell-out performances of “Graveyard Voices” at The Cemetery; Social events; large-scale productions. In April 2026, we will stage live performances of an original production – penned by our writers – called “Cardiff’s Greatest Show” – The Cardiff Fine Art, Industrial and Maritime Exhibition”. This extraordinary event put Cardiff on the Global Map – funded by Coal – and attracted almost a million people. WATCH THIS SPACE!
Main Contact for “Living Lines” – Gwyneth Thomas – via this web-site or our Facebook Pages.
WHAT IS ‘GRAVEYARD VOICES’
‘Graveyard Voices’ was set up by Professor Richard Hand in 2014. A48 has adapted it and made it our own. After extensive research, members of Living Lines write fictional monologues, letters, newspaper reports, diary entries, conversations, etc., which shed light on the lives of some of the people buried in Cathays cemetery. Each year our actors take these ‘scripts’, interpret them and perform them, in costume, at the gravesides of about 9 or 10 cemetery residents. These become stopping points on a heritage walk which is lead by an officer from Cardiff Council Bereavement Services.
Our two walks in 2017 and 2018 drew audiences of between 30 and 50. In 2019 they attracted audiences of 50+. In 2022 and 2023, three walks were sold out well in advance of the performance dates. We have raised over £1,000 for Cathays cemetery and supported Maggie’s in raising money for their ‘Culture Crawl’.
An audience member commented: “I have attended as a member of one of the large groups that follow the ‘Living Lines’ performers through Cathays Cemetery. The grounds are so large that the groups winding their way through become even more expectant as to what they are going to encounter next. To have someone ‘from the grave’ come to them and tell of their lives is one that will live long in my memory and I know in the memories of all person’s present. I could not think of a better vehicle to illuminate the past than to see these scripts performed and filmed, leaving a legacy for all to view in the future. Cathays cemetery to me now is a place to visit, research and learn. Thousands of stories of real people and the trials of their lives, their highs, their lows, and their legacy to Cardiff’s history.”
We are supported by The Friends of Cathavs Cemetery whose web site is a source of invaluable information. Comments made by other audience members include: “educational”, “fascinating”, “brought the history of Cardiff to life”, “quality writing”, “made me see the cemetery in a different light”, “amazing acting”, “good costumes”.
A writer commented: “it has had a profound effect on my writing and the way I see my home city”.
An actor commented: “Performing the scenes about the lives of people buried there made the place so much more interesting and now I keep going back just to calm down and re-charge”.
Many of our ‘Graveyard Voices’ performances can also be found on YouTube, 12 of which we were able to film during the pandemic due to a Grant from the Heritage Lottery Wales.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3-XMkbse9Y2kaRy1P-Keqljf34O348hV
‘Graveyard Voices was mentioned in ‘An Awfully Big Blog Adventure’ by Claire Fayers. You can read her review here.
WHAT ELSE DO WE DO?
Although there is an historical/research bias to some of what we do, our writers have individual aspirations across a wide-range of genres and styles. This can be seen from some of our video collections on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3-XMkbse9Y3CdvfJ9ZGHqUQBqQQxkUi8
We encourage writers to bring along their own work to share and we enjoy writing activity sessions. We look to improve our writing through peer review and self-review. Performance of our pieces at the Summer and Xmas Socials is an effective way of promoting the latter.
We also work collaboratively, both within A48 and with other writing groups. A visit to ‘Past Productions’ on this website will give you a more detailed picture.
We run workshops, both internally and externally organised, and, during the pandemic, we enjoyed a Zoom session with professional poet Denni Turp set up by Voluntary Arts Wales. We do not generally specialise in poetry or ‘open-mic’ sessions but seven of our members were pleased to have their poems included in the Creative Lives Anthology.
WHAT PLANS DO WE HAVE FOR THE FUTURE?
We have a number of projects in the pipeline which will provide opportunities both for individual and collaborative work – Podcasts 2/3, a Cardiff City Walk and a presentation/performance based on the Cardiff Fine Art, Industrial and Maritime Exhibition of 1896.
We have a number of fund-raising events organised for the Autumn 2023 term. First up is a showing of an (amateur) video taken of the performance of ‘Far From Home’ at St John’s Church for Remembrance week last November. The event will be FREE to members with a small charge to non-members but it is hoped that everyone will take advantage of the Book Sale and Refreshments. How about putting it in your diary now?
Tuesday Sept 26th, ‘Far From Home’ video, 7.30 pm, Cathays Chapel, Fairoak Road, Cardiff CF24 4PY.
The Cathays Chapel provides a convivial atmosphere – above on the occasion of our Xmas Social 2019.
Much more can be discovered about the amazing part which Living Lines plays in the success and ever-growing reputation of A48 Theatre Company by visiting ‘Past Productions’ on our website. Why not come along and try us?