The Aberystwyth Wall is a modern retelling of the traditional Welsh folktale of Cantre’r Gwaelod, a mythical Welsh kingdom now lost beneath the waves of Ceredigion Bay, from Welsh singer-songwriter and storyteller Gwilym Morus-Baird, accompanied by musician, Ben MacCoed.

Rising sea levels have forced the people of Aberystwyth to build a gigantic sea defence around the town and on one particular night, the wall attendant witnesses a monstrous storm raging and threatening his diverse community.

The music, composed and performed by Gwyilm and accompanied by Ben, draws on influences as varied as Welsh folk ballads and electric live-looping. Layered harmonies, Welsh language song and intricately woven guitar add another dimension, full of beauty and longing.

The Aberystwyth Wall imagines a future Wales where the worst of the climate crisis has come to pass, and yet offers a heart-warming tale of human connection, community and belonging.

It offers a rich and captivating evening of storytelling and music that will leave audiences with their hearts full of hope.

The Aberystwyth Wall follows on from Adverse Camber and Gwilym Morus-Baird’s lockdown online and audio project, 4 Tales to Save the World, created in response to and imagining a future world, and in particular, Wales, living with climate crisis. The Aberystwyth Wall is the fifth Tale to Save the World.

Gwilym said: “One of the things that’s motivated me to create The Aberystwyth Wall is to see if we can find a new perspective on the climate crisis. Imagining possible futures is one way of doing that.

“And living in the Aberystwyth and Ceredigion Bay area means there’s a long folk-history of sea-level rises and sunken lands close at hand. I’m not the first to connect the climate crisis to that folk-history, but I found it an intriguing challenge to re-tell it in a futuristic setting.

“I think most people accept that we are at the beginning of something; the effects become more obvious every year. But I also know that it’s easy to get used to it, to grow numb to it.

“I see in myself how this thing called climate change, one of the greatest threats humanity has ever faced, has become background noise in my life. So I felt I needed to turn the volume up on it again.

“I’ve always known that as a performer the very least I can do is offer a space for people to look at the climate crisis, to explore how they feel about it.

“Now, with the help of this beautiful Welsh folktale, musician Ben MacCoed, Adverse Camber and the Welsh Arts Council, I can do that!”

The storytelling is in English and the songs in Welsh. The performance is followed by an informal Q&A with Gwilym.

The Aberystwyth Wall is on at Aberystwyth Arts Centre on Wednesday, 13 April, at 7.45pm.