Arts Council of Wales | Theatre and Drama

Theatre and Drama

Our Vision

To help develop theatre culture in all its aspects so that the theatre is a "must see" for ever greater numbers of people in Wales. Theatre touches peoples lives, opening up new experiences, understandings, and enjoyment.

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Wednesday 12 Jun 2013

Unity Festival 2013

Sherman Cymru
Senghennedd Road
Cardiff
CF24 4YE

Hijinx Theatre reveals line-up for one of Europe’s largest inclusive arts festivals Cardiff-based inclusive theatre company Hijinx Theatre has this week (29 April) announced the 2013 line-up* of its flagship Unity Festival – one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

Wednesday 12 Jun 2013

Unity Festival 2013

Wales Millennium Centre
Bute Place
Cardiff
CF10 5AL

Hijinx Theatre reveals line-up for one of Europe’s largest inclusive arts festivals Cardiff-based inclusive theatre company Hijinx Theatre has this week (29 April) announced the 2013 line-up* of its flagship Unity Festival – one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

Wednesday 12 Jun 2013

Unity Festival 2013

Sherman Cymru
Senghennedd Road
Cardiff
CF24 4YE

Hijinx Theatre reveals line-up for one of Europe’s largest inclusive arts festivals Cardiff-based inclusive theatre company Hijinx Theatre has this week (29 April) announced the 2013 line-up* of its flagship Unity Festival – one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

Wednesday 12 Jun 2013

Unity Festival 2013

Wales Millennium Centre
Bute Place
Cardiff
CF10 5AL

Hijinx Theatre reveals line-up for one of Europe’s largest inclusive arts festivals Cardiff-based inclusive theatre company Hijinx Theatre has this week (29 April) announced the 2013 line-up* of its flagship Unity Festival – one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

Friday 21 Jun 2013

Ysceifiog festival

Ysceifiog festival
Ysceifiog Village Halll / St Mary's Church
Ysceifiog
CH8 8TA

During Midsummer’s Weekend 2013 (Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd June), Ysceifiog will be hosting a festival of performing and creative arts.

Monday 08 Jul 2013

Arts & Business Cymru 2013 Awards

Wales Millennium Centre
Bute Place
Cardiff
CF105AL

Arts & Business Cymru launched its 20th annual awards ceremony on the 7th of February.

Case Studies

The Snow Spider

FLINTSHIRE schoolchildren who performed in The Snow Spider at Clwyd Theatr Cymru recently were thrilled to discover Jenny Nimmo, the book’s author was in the audience.

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The Snow Spider | Photo: Barry Hamilton

Gronant Family Centre - Puppet Mania!

Aim Building on the success of the Arts Taster Weekends in which puppetry was identified through evaluations as the most popular artform.

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Gronant Family Centre - Puppet Mania!

Artists and Organisations

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Music Theatre Wales

Music Theatre Wales began life in Cardiff in 1988 and the first MTW production was typically inventive, setting Peter Maxwell Davies’s The Martyrdom of St Magnus in the graveyard of the Saxon church in the grounds of St Donats Castle. The company continues to break new ground in opera, presenting newly commissioned works, bringing new artists to the form and finding a new place for pieces already written which are either neglected or unseen in the UK. Today, Music Theatre Wales is acknowledged as one of the UK’s leading contemporary opera companies, dedicated to performing masterpieces of the recent past and to commissioning new works from the very best composers and writers -operas which we hope will enter the future repertoire of opera companies around the world. Since 1988 we have created almost 30 productions and presented 14 world premieres. We have an established programme to help nurture new opera composers and we have created productions with a wide range of partners including Opera National du Rhin in Strasbourg, the Berlin Festival, Opera Vest in Norway, Banff Centre in Canada, Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon, Haarlem Theatre in The Netherlands, Treffpunkt in Stuttgart, Scottish Opera and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In 2002, Music Theatre Wales became the first Associate Company of the Royal Opera House. This partnership has given us a fabulous London home and opportunities to undertake projects we could not otherwise afford, through co-productions and co-commissions. In turn, we have brought contemporary opera of quality and artistic rigour into the very heart of the home of grand opera. At the 2011 TMA Theatre Awards our production of Greek by Mark-Anthony Turnage won Outstanding Achievement in Opera against stiff competition from Opera North and Glyndebourne. The company has twice been short-listed for the Prudential Awards for “creativity, excellence, innovation and accessibility.” Lynne Plowman’s opera Gwyneth and the Green Knight which we commissioned won the British Composers Award and her second opera The House of the Gods, again commissioned by us, was also shortlisted for this award in 2007. The company has been recorded on CD, broadcast on BBC radio and our work has been screened on BBC2. In 2009 the company worked for the first time in Welsh, commissioning a new performing version of The Soldier’s Tale –Stori’r Milwr. Plans for 2012 include an autumn tour of two new operas by Huw Watkins and Stuart MacRae which will receive their world premieres at the Edinburgh International Festival. In 2013, the company will give the UK premiere of Luci mie traditrici by Salvatore Sciarrino, while Philip Glass and Christopher Hampton are writing a new opera for us, based on Kafka’s The Trial, to be premiered at Covent Garden in 2014 in a co-commission and co-production with the Royal Opera House.

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Arts Connection

Charitable community arts organisation working in all art forms across north powys and wrexham since 1994.

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Theatr Mwldan

Mwldan is a vibrant presenting and producing arts centre situated in Cardigan, in the heart of the beautiful West Wales countryside. Fully digitised and 3D and satellite equipped, the venue recently opened its third cineam screen making Mwldan Wales only truly independant multiplex. The venue welcomes 350,000 visitors through its doors every year, with up to 95,000 ticketed admissions per annum. With a dedication to innovation, vision and excellence, Mwldan has been described by The Arts Council of Wales as ‘exemplary’ and a ‘model of best practice and excellence’ for its touring and production work. Mwldan was recently given a Beacon Company Award for 2008 and 2009 from The Arts Council of Wales, one of only 22 arts organisations in Wales to receive this special recognition. It is also one of the Arts Councils eight dedicated Regional Performaing Arts Centres. Mwldan has an important role in contributing to the local economic, social and cultural regeneration of Cardigan and the surrounding area. Mwldan is a not-for-profit organisation that combines economic activity with a social and ethical purpose. At Mwldan’s heart is the belief that the arts can deliver life-changing and life-enhancing experiences that have the power to change perceptions and increase tolerance, breaking down cultural divides and allowing greater understanding – as relevant for the community we live in as it is for the planet we live on. This vision is at the core of Mwldan and all its activities.

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Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru

Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru is the national Welsh language touring company. Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru tours its productions all over Wales and the Company's administrative centre is in the new Cultural Enterprise Centre in Carmarthen - Y Llwyfan - which offers administrative and rehersal space for the Company.

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Disability Arts Cymru

Disability Arts Cymru believes that Disabled and Deaf People have an exciting and valuable contribution to make to the arts in Wales. We are committed to working with individuals and organisations to celebrate the diversity of Disabled and deaf Peoples arts and culture, and develop equality across all art forms.

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Aberystwyth Arts Centre

Award winning Aberystwyth Arts Centre is Wales’ largest arts centre and recognised as a 'national flagship for the arts'. It has a wide-ranging artistic programme, both producing and presenting, across all art forms including drama, dance, music, visual arts, applied arts, film, new media, and community arts and is recognised as a national centre for arts development. We welcome over 750,000 visitors a year, including over 100,000 attendances for performing arts and events featuring local, national and international work, 236,000 for exhibitions and over 100,000 for our unique community arts and education programme. In 2000 the Arts Centre completed a major £4.3 million redevelopment. In 2009 it undertook an additional £1.75 million development which added an artists and creative industries studios complex, and acts as the base for a major artists in residence programme. This gives Aberystwyth Arts Centre a range of facilities unrivalled throughout much of the UK. The Arts Centre is a department of Aberystwyth University, and sits at the heart of the university's campus, with stunning views over the town of Aberystwyth and along the coastline of Cardigan Bay.

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Rhondda Cynon Taff Community Arts

RCTCA believes in the transformational power of creativity. We deliver high quality professional art experiences to communities across the South Wales Valleys and beyond with regular classes in creative dance and dance theatre, as well as bespoke visual and public art projects and celebratory events. We are committed to ensuring that creativity plays a role socially, educationally, culturally by innovating, inspiring, including.

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Theatr Iolo

Theatr Iolo is an internationally-renowned theatre company based in Cardiff. We make theatre for all ages, from babies to adults. We perform all over Wales and across the world, from London to Seoul. We aim to create the best of theatre for children, young people and their families. Our work often has a European or international flavor. We have a speciality in making work for early years.

Pontardawe Arts Centre

Pontardawe Arts Centre is owned an managed by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. A refurbished Music Hall the auditorium hosts a broad programme of drama, dance, music and entertainment events alongside a film progrmmae both mainstream and specialist. The facilities are complimented by a gallery and teaching studio.

Head for Arts

Head for Arts is a community arts organisation that works across the Eastern Heads of the Valleys areas, covering the county boroughs of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil and Torfaen. Established in April 2008, Head for Arts has an administrative base in Llanhilleth Miners Institute but programmes arts activity in various venues across the entire patch. Head for Arts is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government through the Arts Council of Wales and is supported by a partnership of the four local authorities involved.

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Volcano Theatre

Volcano is an original voice in theatre. We produce original theatre productions and site-specific events. We tour theatre productions in Wales, the UK and all over the world. We research and develop new ideas. We commission work from writers, visual artists and film-makers. We curate events that bring other artists and participants together. We teach and inspire through workshops and residencies.

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Celf o Gwmpas

We run high quality visual, performing and environmental arts projects across Powys. Our programme of exciting and challenging projects includes film-making, animation, sculpture, painting, drama and music, for people with learning disabilities and people who are often excluded from society. We showcase our work through public performances and exhibitions, throughout the UK and in the Beaufort Gallery.

Torch Theatre

The Torch is a celebrated producing theatre company, and the striking new theatre was re-launched in March 2008 with a highly acclaimed version of the award-winning musical 'The Hired Man'. The Torch Theatre Company boasts an impressive repertoire including 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest', 'Neville's Island', 'Abigail's Party', 'The Little Shop of Horrors', ‘The Norman Conquests’, ‘An Inspector Calls’, ‘Accidental Death of an Anarchist’ and The Christmas show is always a firm family favourite. The Torch Theatre also screens the latest movie blockbusters alongside art house and off-beat films and visitors can also take pleasure in viewing paintings, photographs, ceramics, crafts and installations by local and national artists in the Joanna Field Gallery. The programme changes regularly, and entry is free. The Torch Theatre is a modern and vibrant centre for the arts which prides itself on extending a warm Pembrokeshire welcome to all visitors.

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Hijinx Theatre

Hijinx Theatre is one of Wales' leading professional small scale touring theatre companies. From our base at Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, we tour high quality, original theatre to communities throughout the UK, bringing to life stories and characters that are comical, poignant, inspiring and challenging. Hijinx is passionate about pioneering the inclusion of people with learning disabilities in the arts and to creating a range of opportunities for participation. In 2007 Hijinx founded the Unity Festival, an international arts festival that puts the very best inclusive arts onto a prestigious platform at Wales Millennium Centre. In 2012 Unity is spreading to two sites over two weeks with a new performance venue on Queen Street right in the centre of Cardiff. In 2012, Hijinx launched two weekly training courses for performers with learning disabilities: Creative Choices and the Hijinx Academy. For more information about either course, call the Hijinx office on 02920 300331.

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Theatr Brycheiniog

Situated at the end of the picturesque Brecon to Monmouth Canal in the pretty market town of Brecon on the edge of Brecon Beacons National Park, Theatr Brycheiniog offers a popular and acclaimed programme of performing arts and entertainment throughout the year. Other facilities on the theatre site include a a year-round programme of visual arts by artists from the region in the Andrew Lamont Gallery and a nationally acclaimed bistro Tipple'n'Tiffin. Theatr Brycheiniog is funded by the Arts Council of Wales, Powys County Council and Brecon Town Council. Theatr Brycheiniog has recently become the first solar-powered theatre in Wales, generating a small proportion of its energy requirements through the recently installed photo-voltaic cells on its roof. Theatr Brycheiniog opened in 1997.

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Sherman Cymru

Since 2007, when Sherman Cymru was formed through the merger of Sherman Theatre Limited and Sgript Cymru Limited, we have consistently produced critically acclaimed and award winning work in both Welsh and English. The company strives to create the best theatre it can; to achieve a distinct and diverse programme for audiences; to engage its communities in the creative process of theatre making; and to make a lasting contribution to the national and international development of theatre in Wales. Central to the work we do are commitments to develop and champion the work of Welsh and Wales-based writers, to foster the involvement of young people in the experience of theatre and to actively encourage the development of emerging artists of the next generation.

Wales Millennium Centre

Wales Millennium Centre opened in 2004 and has already established its reputation as one of the World`s iconic arts and cultural destinations. The vision of the Centre is to be an internationally significant cultural landmark and centre for the performing arts, renowned for inspiration, excellence and leadership. The Centre is one of the most unique and lively performing arts centres in Europe, opened by Her Majesty The Queen in 2004. Look beyond the amazing exterior, as featured in Torchwood and Dr Who, and you will come across a bustling atmosphere that makes our visitors want to return time and time again. We’re so much more than a theatre. Our visitors come to enjoy blockbuster West End musicals, opera ballet and contemporary dance, hip hop and stand up comedy, art exhibitions, workshops, training days, free daily foyer performances, guided tours, bars and restaurants..... there really is something for everyone.

Llun/Photo: Phil Boorman

Chapter

A distinct and different meeting place for independent film, performance, art & ideas where you can have fun, take risks and open your eyes to new perspectives. Chapter is one of Europe's largest and most dynamic arts centres with cinemas, theatres, exhibition spaces, studios, cafe, shop, award-winning bar, over 60 cultural workspaces and more. If you want to be amazed by a performance, watch life-affirming films that lift your spirits and warm your soul, see an exhibition that's thought-provoking, playful and provocative or just linger over coffee in the cafe join us at Chapter - we'll make sure you feel welcome.

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Venue Cymru

Venue Cymru is the largest Arts and Conference centre in North Wales. As a receiving house we are able to accommodate large scale touring musicals from the West End, top class Opera from the Welsh National Opera and many other genres including pantomime, contemporary dance ballet and outreach and educational activities. Venue Cymru can also offer catering with the beautifully positioned Y Review Restaurant which overlooks the bay of Llandudno.

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Articulture Wales

Articulture is a creative organisation that aims to bring together public arts practitioners in Wales to generate and support innovation, collaboration and production of unique outdoor performance and spectacle.

Wyeside Arts Centre

The Wyeside Arts Centre is a presenting venue for live and visual arts, and for cinema. From Jack Dee to the UK Ballet, from Music and Drama to the very latest in film, Wyeside's commitment is to offer a programme of arts and culture accessable to all. With a long history of providing entertainment to the local community, including one of the oldest cinemas in Wales, there is something to suit all tastes at Wyeside.

Canolfan Gelfyddydau Glannau Gwy | Wyeside Arts Centre

National Youth Arts Wales

NYAW encourages, supports and promotes national performing arts opportunities with and by young people, through local, regional and national partnerships.

re-live

Re-Live create innovative documentary theatre and life story work. We have recently worked in Japan and Ireland, and are forging strong links in Australia. We are excited to be part of the growing international revolution that is Arts in Health.

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Theatr Ffynnon

Theatr Ffynnon is a unique community arts theatre company working primarily with adults and young people with learning disabilities, and is recognised as a model of best practice in supporting the development of a disability arts culture in Wales and beyond. We exist to enrich the lives of people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and mental health issues, by providing development opportunities through training and participation in the visual and performing arts. Through such diverse opportunities, we endeavour to change perceptions within the communities we work, by promoting a greater understanding and engagement. Creating a challenging, expressive but safe environment is essential to our work. We believe that by building some of our work around topical or divisive issues, we can help to confront negative attitudes and defy expectations of what can be achieved by individuals with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and mental health issues. The diversity of work we undertake is consistently devised and led by the membership (which currently stands at 100) and the communities we work within, to establish themes or issues pertinent to the individual & communities we represent.

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Audiences Wales

Audiences Wales is dedicated to increasing access to the arts and cultural sector in Wales. Our Mission is to provide strategic and tactical marketing support, services and expertise to enable arts organisations to build beneficial relationships with current and future audiences. We provide a range of tactical and strategic marketing services for professional, amateur or community based arts organisation or artists. All of our services aim to support the business performance of arts organisations and help them to understand and reach audiences, and to encourage greater levels of engagement in the arts in Wales.

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Gwynedd Community Arts

The Gwynedd Council Community Arts Unit works to promote, support and develop arts activity in the County’s communities. Community arts provide opportunities for everyone to participate in the arts regardless of experience, age or background. The Unit works with a wide range of community and voluntary groups, in various fields such as regeneration, education, health and wellbeing etc. Community arts are a medium which provide opportunities to ... 1. develop skills 2. socialise and relax 3. be self-expressive 4. build confidence 5. foster a sense of pride and ownership 6. foster a sense of self-awareness and achievement 7. create and express without criticism 8. develop, share and experiment with ideas 9. communicate and express opinions 10. keep healthy, both mentally and physically

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The Romani Cultural and Arts Company

The Romani Cultural and Arts Company was formed in September 2009 as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee (No. 07005660) and is a registered charity (No.1138150). Working through the arts the Company raises funds to take community development and educational projects onto Gypsy, Roma and Traveller sites and into Gorjer and ‘country-folk’ communities across Wales.

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Beyond the Border

Beyond The Border Wales International Storytelling Festival aims to promote excellence in and understanding of the art of performance storytelling, and to celebrate the richness of the world’s oral traditions. From the outset the festival has sought to raise the status and increase understanding of storytelling as an artform suitable for all ages; to showcase performances by leading practitioners from Wales and the World involved in exploring the retelling of traditional stories for a contemporary audience; and to help develop and provide a platform for an emerging new generation of performance storytellers. At the heart of this work has been the three-day Beyond The Border festival, already regarded as one of the leading international festivals of storytelling in the UK and among the finest festivals of its kind in Europe. In addition, BTB actively promotes storytelling on a year-round basis at venues in Cardiff and across Wales.

Arts & Business Cymru

A&B Cymru’s role is to promote, enable and develop mutually beneficial partnerships between business and the arts. From offices in Cardiff and Llandudno, the Wales team works with a range of arts professionals, from individual practitioners to flagship organisations, and the private sector from micro businesses through to multi national corporations. A&B Cymru’s work has proven value in the current economic climate of Wales. The impact it has can be felt on children, people in the workplace, communities large and small. A&B Cymru knows that when business and the arts work together in truly mutual partnership, both become stronger with the results benefiting our society in far reaching and tangible ways.

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Arad Goch

Theatre Company established in Aberystwyth in 1989, we produce contemporary and exciting Welsh and English language productions for children, young people and families. We tour extensively to theatres, community venues and schools throughout Wales. We also offer multimedia workshops and projects for young people, including weekly drama clubs, dance, music, film, sound recording, art and photography workshops at Canolfan Arad Goch. We are very happy to discuss collaborating on projects and productions as we have a vast experience of collaboration with National Library of Wales, NSPCC, Ceredigion Museum, Theatres, Community Groups and Individuals.

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Vagabondi Puppets

We are a professional puppet theatre providing entertainment, education and inspiration across the known universe (but mostly in Wales and England.)

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Spectacle Theatre

Since its inception in 1979, Spectacle Theatre has become renowned for producing and touring theatre that is daring, distinctive and inclusive for and with young people and the community, locally, nationally and internationally. Spectacle has a successful record for effectively delivering Issue based workshops with disadvantaged and hard to reach groups particularly in addressing sexual health, substance misuse, risk taking and keeping safe. Spectacle delivers its work bi-lingually

Theatr Cynefin

Theatr Cynefin is a Sensory Labyrinth Theatre (SLT) company established in 2000. SLT is a kind of theatre which employs all the senses and which is performed in purpose built labyrinths with and for communities. We create labyrinths either as site specific instillations in large interior spaces or we create them in the natural or built environment. Our performances provide audiences and communities with an opportunity to step out of time and enter a 'being' instead of a 'doing' mode. And our stated aim is - "To Present and be Present to Shared Moments in Space and Time Where Fear and Mediocrity are Transformed into Awe and Wonder and the Inner and the Outer become One."

Deborah Claire Procter

Deborah Claire Procter is an interdisciplinary artist, actor and video-maker from Cardiff (Wales), and a Creative Wales Award winner. She began her training in theatre, and worked with companies like Theatre Alibi. Simultaneously she developed a love for experimental theatre, creating many solos and duets that play with perspective and scale, mixing ideas from theatre, dance, sculpture and performance art, and incorporating the use of various kinds of projection. Her work has been seen in galleries such as the Ferens (Hull), Oriel (Cardiff), and Spacex (Exeter), and theatres like the Hemsley (Madison) and the Museum Theatre (Madras). She maintains a strong interest and practice in movement, including contemporary and post- modern dance, as well as yoga and martial arts, and has trained extensively in improvisation and performance with Ruth Zaporah, Gardzienice Theatre, and Skinner Release Dance with Gaby Agis. In 2003, with the help of commission by Welsh Independent Dance, she began making videos with dancers and performers, one of which Am I This? was chosen for The Dance on Screen Festival at The Place, London. Since then she has made over ten videos, shooting in locations in Wales, Argentina and Austria. She was a part-time and guest lecturer in many institutions, including teaching performance at University of Glamorgan, and voice for broadcast journalists at the University of Wales, Cardiff, and has taught many youth and community groups.

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Registered Charity Number 1034245