Wales has a theatre scene with a powerful identity of its own, shaped not only by Cardiff’s major stages but by venues spread across the country’s towns, coastlines and cultural centres. While Wales Millennium Centre, Sherman Theatre and New Theatre Cardiff remain important anchors in the capital, the wider picture is just as rich. Theatr Clwyd in Mold, Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Pontio in Bangor, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Mwldan in Cardigan, Torch Theatre in Milford Haven, Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon, Taliesin Arts Centre in Swansea, The Riverfront in Newport and Grand Pavilion in Porthcawl all help show how widely theatre lives across Wales. These venues bring together touring productions, Welsh-language and English-language work, comedy, music, dance, family shows, new writing and community performance, making theatre feel rooted in place rather than centred in one city. From North Wales to the west coast, from Mid Wales to the Valleys and the south coast, Welsh theatre has a reach and texture all of its own.
Grace says: Welsh theatre has mountains, music, poetry and drama before anyone’s even found their seat — and somehow still manages to make English theatre look like it needs to loosen its tie a bit.