³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

For those of you still weeping into your pints of Brains that the Rugby World Cup is over, a refreshing blast of sporty theatre is on its way to stages across Wales.

John Godber's Up 'n' Under was famously transferred to the big screen in 1998, for a film starring Samantha Janus, Neil Morrissey, Gary Olsen and Richard Ridings, filmed in Cardiff.

Now as the dust settles on Wales' emotional journey through the New Zealand tournament, Black Rat Productions is taking a new adaptation of the play on tour.

Shows kicked off at the Blackwood Miners' Institute in early October, before moving to the Swansea Grand and the Carmarthen theatres. Now, after a brief visit to London, the play is heading north to Colwyn Bay and Pwllhelli, before returning to delight crowds in south Wales.

Some of the cast of Up 'n' Under. Photo: Emyr Young

This production of the popular observational comedy is directed by Richard Tunley and has been specially adapted for the company by Godber.

The prolific Yorkshireman originally penned Up 'n' Under about a rugby league team in the north east, but for the 2011 tour, it has been rewritten to focus on the dynamics of an amateur rugby union side in the south Wales valleys.

John Godber

He said: "I thoroughly enjoyed Black Rat's production of Bouncers last year, and as a former Rugby Union trialist years ago, I have always had a real interest in rugby union.

"Up 'n' Under the film, starring Neil Morrissey and Samantha Janus, was shot in Cardiff, and I had always thought there was not much of a difference between rugby league sevens and rugby union sevens.

"The chance to bespoke the play for a country which is rugby mad is a great opportunity and a real chance to bring the play to thousands of theatre goers, giving them the chance to see the vitality of (the play) up close and very personal."

The play was first performed at Hull Truck's Spring Street Theatre in 1984 and scooped the Laurence Olivier Comedy of the Year Award later that same year.

Black Rat Productions, which operates out of Penarth, enjoyed a very successful tour in 2010 of another Godber classic, Bouncers, set in a northern nightclub called Mr Cinders and focusing on the exploits of four doormen and their customers.

This time, audiences will be treated to a non-stop ribald sporting comedy, peppered with rugby songs, hilarity and a touching tale of teamwork.

Actor Gareth Bale. Photo: Emyr Young

The play follows retired rugby player Arthur who is jostled into an absurd bet, which sees him obligated to train the local sevens side.

Unfortunately the team can only muster four players in a challenge which sees them take on what is famously the best team in the Rhondda Valleys.

Brimful of confidence, Arthur encourages Hazel, who runs a local bodybuilding gym, to help him whip the boys into shape. However, he faces an uphill struggle to convince them that a win is possible.

The Up 'n' Under cast in the changing room. Photo: Emyr Young

Up 'n' Under stars Gareth Bale, Dion Davies, Rhys Matthews, Richard Shackley, Giles Thomas and Sara Lloyd-Gregory.

The tour is a co-production between Black Rat Productions, Blackwood Miners' Institute and RCT Theatres, with funding support from the Arts Council of Wales and Welsh Government. It comes to Theatr Colwyn, Colwyn Bay, on Tuesday 1 November at 7.30pm, before moving to Neaudd Dwfor in Pwllhelli.

The characters in celebratory mood. Photo: Emyr Young

The team then head back south to the home of Welsh rugby in the Valleys and are at the Congress Theatre in Cwmbran on 7 November, Barry Memorial Hall on 8 November, Beaufort Theatre in Ebbw Vale on 9 November, The Muni in Pontypridd on 10 November.

The play then enjoys two nights at the Richard Burton Theatre at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, before concluding its run at the Torch Theatre in Milford Haven on 15 November.

For tickets and information visit .