Two of the winning productions at this year’s NFYFC Performing Arts final, sponsored by Kuhn Farm Machinery, raised awareness about mental health.
The overall winning performance from Erwood YFC in Brecknock, called My Generation, told the story of three men from different generations all trying to cope with individual challenges and emotions.
The production included Owain Lloyd stepping up to fight for his country in 1939, William Lloyd standing on the picket line in 1984 and Ellis Lloyd facing the pressures young people experience in 2026.
The moving and thought-provoking performance was praised by the judges – GODA Adjudicator Susan Doherty and YFC judge Delme Harries – for its clever set design and for sharing an important message.
“The struggles were very cleverly relieved a bit by injections of humour, which is important as if it’s intense all the way through it loses momentum,” said judge Susan Doherty, who found the ending uplifting. “So much enthusiasm, so much talent and it gave us food for thought – it’s alright not to be ok. It’s important to let your emotions out. Well done.”
The production, involving more than 40 members, was written and directed by Samuel Powell, who is in his final year of YFC membership. Samuel has been working on the script over the past year and rehearsing with the cast since Christmas, so was proud to see it win.
“It’s my last year as a YFC member so it’s a very special way to finish being part of this production and winning it at home in Wales,” said Samuel who admitted it took a lot of sleepless nights pulling the ideas for the performance together.
“It’s incredible. We have the most amazing team in Erwood. Everyone is unbelievable and supports each other so well. It’s an issue that is close to so many of our hearts.
“We just love it [Performing Arts]. It’s the highlight of the YFC calendar. It’s a chance, especially in the winter when it’s dark nights, where everyone can come to the hall. It’s something that for everyone is a stand-out moment, not only in the YFC year but just in their lives. It’s very special.”
The Best Moment in the Theatre Award, and the award for second place overall, were presented to another club from Wales – Dyffryn Tanat YFC, Montgomeryshire – who also focused their story on mental health.
Their performance called Headspace took the audience inside the mind of teenager Luke, played by Iwan, who was struggling with his emotions.
Inspired by the film Inside Out, some of the cast played the roles of Luke’s emotions – anger, happiness, anxiety, sadness and disgust. It was a scene in Luke’s exam room, that caught the judges’ attention.
Judge Susan Doherty praised the scene for being stylised and precise.
“I loved the way that at the beginning the students were all robotic, which I am sure young people feel like when they go into an exam. Then gradually it showed individually how they were coping with the exam,” said Susan.
“Overall, I would like to thank this group for tackling an important subject. It proves how performing arts is a great tool for dealing with issues that are relevant to us today. Well done.”
Iwan, who played Luke, also won the Best Performance in a Lead Role (10-17) for his portrayal of the anguished teenager.
In the story Luke is struggling with his emotions following the death of his grandad. His dog is going to the vet, he’s under pressure at school with exams and he has a crush on a classmate.
“The main message is you need to talk to someone and it’s ok to not be ok,” said Iwan, who resonated with aspects of the role. “I’ve just lost my Grandad as well, so I connected with the role in that way, and I tried to use that as fuel to bring into my performance. As a young teenager myself, I know what it’s like to go through all these emotions.”
It was the third time in a row that Thomas Broadley from Buxton YFC in Derbyshire, has won the Best Performance in a Lead Role in the 18-28 category. Thomas played a character called Billy who built a time machine and used it to travel back in time to a Buxton YFC meeting in 1976.
The production, called Time Warped, was written by the club and directed by Peter Slack – and was an idea that stemmed from the fact it’s Buxton YFC’s 80th anniversary this year.
“We always try and think of a situation to link all these things together so it helps it a bit and you come up with the scenes and think, ‘what can we do with this?’ I played Billy in a duo with my brother, who played Fred. He gave himself into the role and came on stage in a dress.”
Buxton’s Entertainments entry was the final performance of the weekend and kept the audience laughing, particularly with Thomas’ song that he wrote himself.
“It’s such a great competition to get involved in,” said Thomas who studied media and performance at university. “The fact you can get involved at 10 years old and if things go well you end up performing in front of 600 or so people, it just opens your eyes that this is something you can do.”
Luke from Eardisley YFC in Herefordshire won the Best Performance in a Supporting Role in the 10 to 17 category for his portrayal of a snobby inspector in their Entertainment called Gone Fishing.
“It involved being a very pompous over-exaggerated individual, being a play on some of those wine tasters you see online,” said Luke about the part he played.
“The competition gives a lot of people the chance to express themselves on the stage and show other people what they can do and maybe even encourage them to do the same thing.”
Milly Philp from Cornwall won the Best Performance in a Supporting role (18-28) for her part as Peter in Cornwall’s performance called Full Steam Ahead.
KUHN Farm Machinery sponsored this year’s Performing Arts competition and Managing Director Sian Pritchard was at the final to watch the performances.
“We are privileged to be the sponsor for this year’s Performing Arts competition,” said Sian.
“Being a member of YFC and part of the Young Farmers’ Entertainments, gives you skills like teamwork but also public speaking and much more confidence. All of that is applicable to work life later on.”
