Afal Drwg Adda

S4C

In this drama-documentary by Cwmni Da, we get an honest and clear picture of the life of one of Wales’ most celebrated writers.

The programme focuses on the hardships he faced as a child and as an adult.

In 1972, Caradog Prichard was admitted into hospital for an operation to cure his throat cancer. While under the influence of the anaesthetic, all manner of memories – some real, some from his imagination – came flooding back. Soon after, he started to write his autobiography, Afal Drwg Adda (Adam’s Bad Apple) – ‘An Autobiography of Failure’ as Caradog put it.

Through an extensive use of archive footage and interviews, as well as contributions from experts, we get an honest depiction of Caradog’s childhood in Bethesda and his career in Caernarfon, Llanrwst, Cardiff and London.

In his last television performance, the late Stewart Jones portrays Caradog in 1972 with Llion Williams playing the author as a young man. Judith Humphreys plays the part of Caradog’s mother with all of her psychological complications. This drama-documentary was directed by Dylan Wyn Richards, who co-wrote the production with Angharad Elen and Aled Jones-Williams. It was first broadcast on S4C in November 2011.