A comedian who spent his teenage years in Brecon is taking the story of his great-grandfather to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer.

Award-winning comedy writer and performer Gareth Gwynn will present his debut solo show Cyril at the Gilded Balloon Patter House from August 5 to 31.

Gareth, who grew up in Brecon as a teenager, has created the show around the life of his great-grandfather Cyril Gwynn (1897-1988), known as the “Bard of Gower”.

Cyril was a farmer and poet whose work, written while ploughing fields and performed in local pubs, became popular across the Gower Peninsula during the 1920s.

Described as a “tall, sunburnt, unsmiling farmer”, Cyril’s poems told stories about rural life, fellow farmers and outsiders in the communities around Swansea.

Gareth never met his great-grandfather, but after being invited to speak about Cyril and his poetry at the Gower Festival, he set out to discover what the two generations might have in common.

The result is a comedy show exploring family history, farming, fighting and the experience of moving to a city when your ancestors thought “tarmac was a bit much”.

Gareth has written for shows including The News Quiz, Have I Got News For You and Armstrong and Miller, and co-wrote BBC sitcoms Ankle Tag and Tourist Trap.

He is also co-presenter of BBC Radio Wales’ Gareth and Esyllt’s Scrapbook and has appeared regularly on The Now Show.

A teaser for the show reads: “Cyril is Gareth Gwynn’s debut solo show and marks a return to performing after some time away - as you can't sell a show about your great-grandfather's life to another comic and his cousins refuse to pull their finger out. However, pinning-down Cyril has been intriguing enough to lure Gareth to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and away from writing, sitting in green rooms and working the BBC coffee machine way too hard. If he can ever make sense of his late father’s notes about Cyril, it’s going to be great.”

The show runs at 1pm daily at the Snug at Gilded Balloon Patter House (Venue 24), Edinburgh, from August 5 to 31 (except for August 18).