An Aberystwyth LGBTQ+ event is set to celebrate 100 years since a controversial bisexual Eisteddfod poem.

In 1924 Edward Prosser Rhys' poem on love, lust and same-sex desire won him the Eisteddfod crown.

However the groundbreaking writer faced a torrent of abuse for his honest poem named Atgof (meaning memory or recollection).

Now 100 years later LGBTQ+ arts company Aberration is putting on a one-night only event to explore the complex legacy of Prosser Rhys and his poem in a double-bill evening at Aberystwyth Arts Centre.

On 16 October the arts company will first put on The Land of Might Have Been featuring drag performer Rhys Slade-Jones to explore what words of wisdom queer Welsh ancestors may have had for Prosser Rhys, set during the 1920s when he and the poem first shot to the lime light.

The blurb writes: “It’s the 1920s: a time of inverts and androgyny, flirtation and endless possibilities.

“What wisdom might our queer Welsh ancestors have passed on to Edward Prosser Rhys and his intimate circle of friends?”

The show will be followed by Bwystfilod Aflan / Unclean Beasts by Music Theatre Wales in collaboration with Sinfonia Cymru, a newly commissioned piece which debuted at the National Eisteddfod this summer.

The multimedia performance by Conor Mitchell will combine an operatic monologue from tenor Elgan Llŷr Thomas, a reflective dance piece by dancer/actor Eddie Ladd and film to delve into the societal upheaval that was triggered by Atgof.

The marketing material says: “Edward Prosser Rhys's depictions of sex and lust and inclusion of a romance between two young men in his poem was a bold reflection of his reality, challenging the societal norms of his time, a time when homosexuality was still illegal, and would be for another 40 years.

“Yet, it was the response of those who chose to both ‘rebuke and reward’ his creative expression that truly highlighted the era's complexities and biases.”

The double-bill will run from 6.30-9pm, with £15 tickets to become available shortly via Aberystwyth Arts Centre box office and website.