National Eisteddfod hosts Welsh language premiere of Canon Law play

A Welsh-language premiere of Thrice to Rome was performed at the National Eisteddfod.

Shown at the Cardiff University stand on 3 August 2026, the Welsh version of the play, Tair Gwaith i Rufain, was prepared by Thomas Watkin KC, Honorary Professor of Law at Cardiff University and First Legislative Counsel to the Welsh Government (2007-10). The cast included former First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford.

The play tells the story of Gerald of Wales and his three appearances before the Court of Pope Innocent III (1200 -1203) to secure independence of the Church in Wales from the Church in England.

Written by Professor Norman Doe, the drama is based on Gerald's own accounts of the trials. It was created to mark the 800th anniversary of Gerald's death in 1223 and offers a fresh perspective on one of Wales' most celebrated historical figures, reimagining him as a canon lawyer of European stature.

The National Eisteddfod performance was the tenth staging of the play. Previous venues have included St Davids Cathedral, the Temple Church in London, St Dunstan's Church in Canterbury, Rome's Palazzo della Cancelleria, St David's Metropolitan Cathedral in Cardiff, and St Edward's Church, Cardiff.

Cast members across previous productions have included a former Lord Chief Justice, a former Lord Chancellor, a former President of the Welsh Rugby Union and a Prelate Auditor of the Rota in Rome.

The performance also resonated with the 850th anniversary of the first Eisteddfod, held in Cardigan by Lord Rhys, a contemporary of Gerald of Wales. The play raises questions of nationhood, religious colonialism, and law.

Parts of the Eisteddfod performance were filmed by the BBC and featured on Wales Today. Following the performance, Professor Doe thanked the cast, audience and Cardiff University staff for their support in staging the production.

Both the Welsh and English versions of the play will be published, with historical notes, by the Welsh Legal History Society in autumn 2026.

Photograph (Left to right): Karl Davies (Chief Executive of Plaid Cymru 1993-2002 and member of the Gorsedd) as Pope Innocent III; Rhodri Price Lewis KC (Deputy High Court Judge, 2013-22) as Cardinal Hugolinus; Wyn Evans (Bishop of St Davids, 2008-16) as William Lyndwood, Bishop of St Davids; Sara Elin Roberts (Professor, Bangor University) as Novella, Canon Law Teacher at Bologna; Goronwy Cwyfan (Ysgol David Hughes, Ynys Môn) as the Court Usher and Reginald Foliot; Sara Forman (Consultant Psychiatrist) as Bettina, Canon Law Teacher at Padua; Timothy Petts (Circuit Judge) as the three Canterbury’s lawyers, Buongiovanni, and John of Tynemouth; Keith Bush KC (First President of the Welsh Language Tribunal, 2014-19) as Ianto Morgan, Gerald’s Advocate; Mark Drakeford PC (First Minister of Wales, 2018-24) as Gerald of Wales; Professor Norman Doe KC FBA.