Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd (National Museum Cardiff) is the setting for a new Welsh language crime drama that will have its premier this weekend.
The original production, Yr Amgueddfa (The Museum), has been billed as a brand-new TV genre, the art crime thriller. The first episode of the six-part series will be broadcast on 30 May.
The thriller follows the story of Dela Howells, a married mother-of-two who has just accepted the post of director-general of the museum. On the night of a party to celebrate her new job, Dela meets a young man, Caleb, who has come along as the date of her son Daniel.
Dela begins a passionate affair with Caleb but soon discovers he has more sinister reasons for seeking a relationship with her as she becomes embroiled in the “dark and dangerous” world of art crime.
The drama was produced by Boom Cymru and stars some of Wales’s best-known actors, including Y Gwyn/Hinterland’s Nia Roberts as Dela and Gavin and Stacey’s Steffan Rhodri as Caleb.
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The drama is scripted by author Fflur Dafydd, who previously wrote Y Llyfrgell (The Library) and turned it into a film of the same name based at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.
Dafydd said: “It’s nice to be able to draw attention to Wales’s institutions in a more creative way. It is some sort of mission in my work – going after things which feel a little bit invisible even though they are huge and important.
“Through the art crime genre it feels that I am creating something which is totally unique to Wales, and because conventional thrillers are becoming a little bit old-hat, it’s quite nice to go after crime in the art world, where there are excitement and secrets of a different sort.”
Paul Jones from Boom Cymru said: “I remember as a young child being dragged by the scruff of my neck through the national museum’s lofty galleries and then in my teenage years the galleries were a place to shelter from the rain on many a Saturday afternoon. Filming Yr Amgueddfa, I had the opportunity to visit once again, but this time creating a drama full of deception and plotting within its walls.”
The drama will be broadcast on Sunday 30 May at 9.00pm on S4C.
