A Welsh Hero?
I went along to see a play about the life of David Lloyd George in The Riverfront.
Who was David Lloyd George?
All I knew then was that he was a white-haired Welsh politician who was Prime Minster in the early 20th century, although most young people would have mistaken him for Einstein due to his long, wild, white hair.
Are we interested in politicians? Generally, people hold politicians in a low opinion and see them as corrupt and self-serving. The point of interest is that he was the only Welsh speaking prime minster who came from humble origins to become one of the most important men of his day.
The played opened with a man a bench. The stage was empty apart from the man and the bench. The man was completely covered in a Union Jack; this was Lloyd George. Did this symbolise that he might have been caught between his Welsh identity and being British Prime Minster?
The play was in the form of a monologue, this means that there was only one actor on stage and he played Lloyd George and other characters. In a monologue the actor might speak to the audience.
The play imagined him at a French seaside resort and he is reflecting on his past life, both private and political. Although now an old man he still has an eye for a pretty girl. During the play he waves at any French woman that catches his roving eye, whilst he wife was waiting at the local hotel.
Lloyd George starts by describing his upbringing and how he was brought up in his uncle’s family. His uncle had a huge influence on his outlook and career. He encouraged him to take an interest in law and politics. He came from a close knit inward looking Welsh speaking community, which was very moralistic and status conscious.
He found this background from which he came extremely claustrophobic. Perhaps this is why he spent most of his later life in England even though he kept his home in Wales. He married one of the local women. His affairs caused them to live fairly separate lives. His role as a very respectable politician was in conflict with the life that he wanted to live.
Today his affairs would be all over the newspapers but at that time it was kept a secret. He was friends with important newspaper editors which helped to keep his private life secret. These friendships caused concern as he was rewarding them with titles.
He did a lot of important things in politics, such as to introducing old age pensions and reducing the power of the unelected House Of Lords. He was a social reformer keen to improve the lives of ordinary people. During the war he held various posts in the war cabinet until finally in 1916 he became Prime Minster.
His term lasted until 1922 and he passed the Irish home bill and the votes for women. After that his career hit a brick wall and after bad election it was almost finished. His lasted major contribution was a speech to the House Of Commons during a debate of the failed Norway campaign during World War Two.
This play was very informative and deepened my understanding of this Welsh hero. However this play failed to attract a younger audience, the only people who will remember him are the older generations.
The actor looked and played the part well. But in the after play talk he said that he tried not to impersonate George but to create an impression of how he could be.
How do we see Lloyd George? In his own time people had very mixed opinions about him, he wasn’t liked by all in Wales because many people thought he could have done more for Wales.
Why don’t we idolise him like Churchill, because he won the Second World War, but Lloyd George won World War One?
