Today, we’re thrilled to reveal plans for our 2021 season.
- Pryd Mae’r Haf?, May 2021 – the season opens with live-streamed performances of this coming-of-age play, co-produced with Criw Brwd.
- Faust + Greta, June 2021 – an experimental digital theatre experience with Frân Wen and Pontio, devised and performed by a young ensemble.
- Gwlad yr Asyn, Summer 2021 – a new comedy play from playwright Wyn Mason, performed with live music, touring to outdoor stages and co-presented with Os Nad Nawr.
- Anfamol, Autumn 2021 – a return to the touring circuit with this new play exploring new motherhood from playwright Rhiannon Boyle.
- Llygoden yr Eira, Christmas 2021 – this enchanting co-production with Theatr Iolo will once again delight young children at venues across Wales.
This announcement comes just over a year after theatres across Wales closed due to COVID-19 and features a variety of digital, outdoor and venue-based productions, with the aim of bringing Welsh-language theatrical experiences back to audiences throughout Wales and beyond. The safety and wellbeing of our audiences and production teams is a top priority, and we will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation carefully over the coming months and will operate flexibly.
Opening the season, along with our co-producers Criw Brwd – in association with The Other Room and Theatr Soar – we are pleased to announce that our production of Pryd Mae’r Haf? will be streamed live to audiences’ devices and smart TVs in May 2021. Set in the South Wales Valleys in 1989, this is a Welsh translation by Gwawr Loader of the play Christmas Is Miles Away by Chloë Moss, following the story of Luke, Christie and Julie as they leave school and take very different paths. The play was originally performed at Theatr Soar, Merthyr Tydfil, and then at The Other Room, Cardiff, in February 2020, but the national tour planned for the spring was cancelled due to COVID-19. With director Sion Pritchard at the helm once again, we are thrilled to welcome back our 2020 cast: Aron Cynan, Ella Peel and Cellan Wyn. Theatr Gen and Criw Brwd are also pleased to be working alongside partner venues across Wales to promote these live digital performances, including Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Galeri, Pontio, Riverfront, Sherman Theatre, The Other Room, Theatr Brycheiniog, Theatr Clwyd, Theatr Hafren, Theatr Mwldan, Theatr Soar, Torch Theatre, Taliesin Arts Centre and Carmarthenshire Theatres. Tickets are on sale now. For full information, including ticket prices, please go to theatr.cymru/prydmaerhafonline or visit your local theatre’s website.
In June 2021, we will join forces with Frân Wen and Pontio to present Faust + Greta, an experimental digital theatre experience, devised and performed by an ensemble of young people from north-west Wales. Inspired by T. Gwynn Jones’s Welsh translation of Goethe’s original text, Faust + Greta transfers the German classic to an amped-up, contemporary Wales in a live online event, co-directed by Nia Lynn and Gethin Evans (Frân Wen’s Artistic Director). Tickets will go on sale soon; please visit theatr.cymru/faustgreta for the latest information.
During the summer holidays, we plan to visit outdoor stages in various parts of Wales with a new play, Gwlad yr Asyn by playwright Wyn Mason – co-presented with Os Nad Nawr, in association with the National Eisteddfod of Wales, with support from Wales Millennium Centre and the University of South Wales. Brimming with satire and live music, Gwlad yr Asyn tells the story of Ari, a female donkey who thinks she’s human, who starts to question her identity after falling in love with a rebellious donkey.
Moving into the autumn, we plan to return to the touring circuit with Anfamol, a new play by playwright Rhiannon Boyle. Casting a sharp and comical eye on new motherhood, this one-woman show follows Ani, a single career woman who decides to start a family via a sperm bank. Opening at Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, the company intends to tour Anfamol to venues across Wales.
To end the year, Llygoden yr Eira, an enchanting co-production with Theatr Iolo, will return once again to delight young children at venues across Wales. Full of music, puppetry and play, this wintry, magical tale was a hit with young audiences and families nationwide in 2019, and as a digital experience during Lockdown through our Theatr Gen Eto programme. The company is delighted to offer another opportunity for children across Wales to be enthralled by the story of the little mouse and its friend.
As well as this jam-packed programme of shows, we will also continue with our participatory work, and skills development and creative development work which has involved almost 9,000 participants since the beginning of 2020. This will include the development and sharing of some of the work of the 11 artists supported through our two new bursary schemes: the Idea Development Bursary and the Artist and Community Bursary. It will also include digital presentations of new work emerging from our Young Playwrights Programme in partnership with Urdd Gobaith Cymru and S4C.
Arwel Gruffydd, our Artistic Director, said:
“It’s an absolute pleasure to reveal the plans for our 2021 programme today. I’m proud of the variety of work we’ve presented under COVID-19 restrictions, with our programmes of original work and digital presentations of some of our shows from the archive, as well as a wealth of participation activities and artist development projects. However, I’m delighted to be planning a return to our wonderful Welsh venues and to presenting work in front of live audiences with a responsive and audience-focused programme that offers a variety of digital, outdoor and indoor theatrical experiences.”
Full information about all performances will be released soon. Please visit theatr.cymru for the most up-to-date news.
PERFORMANCE DATES
Pryd Mae’r Haf?
Live performances, streamed digitally:
13 + 14 May 2021, 8pm
Pre-recorded performance:
20 May 2021, 1.30pm
Pre-recorded performance with BSL:
20 May 2021, 8pm
Pre-recorded performance with English captions:
21 May 2021, 8pm
Faust + Greta
Live performances, streamed digitally:
17–20 June 2021, 7.30pm
Gwlad yr Asyn
Touring outdoor stages throughout Wales: Summer 2021. Further information to follow.
Anfamol
Touring venues throughout Wales: Autumn 2021. Further information to follow.
Llygoden yr Eira
Touring venues throughout Wales: Winter 2021. Further information to follow.