Renowned storytellers Daniel Morden and Hugh Lupton have created a new intimate theatre experience looking at classic myths inspired by the stars, which will tour across Wales in Spring 2026 and will visit the Torch Theatre during March. Produced by Adverse Camber Productions, Stars and their Consolations will share well known Greek myths of the stars illuminated by an electro-acoustic soundtrack created by award winning Welsh composer Sarah Lianne Lewis.

Daniel Morden tells us a bit about the show.

My Dad trained as a navigator with the RAF, and when we were children, he would point out constellations. Momentarily, the sky would be transformed from a host of shiny dots into a procession of gobsmacking images- lions, scorpions, winged horses, bears! My Dad's gone now, and often, when I return home very late after a show, I get out of my car, look up and think of him. 

I can find Orion and the Big Dipper: that's all. When I do this, I always think, who was Orion anyway? and all those other constellations, who are they?  I have a shelf of books about astronomy, star wheels, apps-none of them have stuck. I feel guilty that I can't identify more, in the same way that I feel guilty that I can't identify a beech tree. I can't be the only one who feels like this- who wants to know a bit more, because they are tantalised by the little that they know. Our show will tell the tales of most of the constellations visible above Wales. .

We will be telling the story of Orion, which also involves the Pleiades -seven sisters, whom he hunts- and the scorpion who hunts him. We will also be telling the magical tale of the winged horse Pegasus, Orpheus, the origin of the Milky Way and Heracles's battle with the Hydra. These are incredible stories, underscored by an eerie electronic soundtrack composed by Sarah Lianne Lewis.

It is a delight to be sharing a stage again with Hugh Lupton. We have collaborated for over thirty years. Our first show was a retelling of Homer's Odyssey. We have performed together all over the world- on Broadway, in Norway, The Getty Villa, Hay Festival, even on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean! ...though we both tell a range of stories, our work together has focussed on Greek and Roman myths. These tales aren't good because they are old, they are old because they are good! They are central to our culture. You are referring to a Greek myth when you use words like narcissistic or mentor, or use phrases like the Midas touch or Achilles' heel.

The night sky is an incredible - free!- resource available to us all. When I look up on a clear night, I am often overwhelmed by the majesty and mystery of it. It is breathtaking! It takes me out of myself momentarily, and helps me realise that the everyday stuff I worry about is trivial. Don't we all need moments like that? 

Stars and their Consolations can be seen on the Torch Theatre stage on Tuesday 24 March. For further information visit the Torch Theatre website www.torchtheatre.co.uk / phone the Box Office on (01646) 695267 or click here.