A Year to Remember
2024 has been a year to remember. A year that marks a new chapter for us as Theatr Cymru. A year of touring, collaborating and celebrating Welsh talent. A year of bold and contemporary theatre that challenges society and entertains the nation.
Ie Ie Ie
The year began with a national tour of the production Ie Ie Ie, starring Eleri Morgan under the direction of Juliette Manon. Exploring healthy relationships, lust and consent, Ie Ie Ie featured candid interviews with young Welsh people about relationships and the online environment. We also had the opportunity to perform Ie Ie Ie at the Urdd Eisteddfod later in the year.
Kiki Cymraeg
In March, we held a week of research and development with the Welsh Ballroom Community. Combining ballroom, theatre and spoken word performances, the workshops explored what it means to be queer in Wales today – with a scratch performance to end the week at Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre.
Parti Priodas
Next, we took Parti Priodas by Gruffudd Owen out on tour, starring Mared Llywelyn and Mark Henry Davies under the direction of Steffan Donnelly. After a fantastic response at the 2023 National Eisteddfod, it was a wonderful experience to take this show on a national tour so that more people could enjoy this feast of laughter, dancing and love. From Machynlleth Comedy Festival to Llanrwst Rugby Club, audiences across Wales loved this comedy – and to top it all, the tour won the UK Theatre Award for Excellence in Touring.
As a result of our partnership with S4C, there is another opportunity for people across Wales to watch this special play as Parti Priodas, and Rhinoseros, are now available on the S4C, Clic, YouTube and iPlayer platforms.
Pontypridd National Eisteddfod 2024
To Pontypridd next, with an exciting programme of drama, comedy, and talks. As part of the Mas ar y Maes programme, we were delighted to present Brên. Calon. Fi, with the National Eisteddfod, a hilarious and heart-wrenching monologue by Bethan Marlow. With director Rhiannon Mair at the helm, Lowri Morgan starred as 'Fi', the storyteller who takes the audience on a journey through her love life. We're delighted to take Brên. Calon. Fi on a national tour during Pride month 2025 – keep an eye out for more information.
Building on the success of our last co-production (Rwan/Nawr in 2023), we worked with Theatr Clwyd once again to present Ha/Ha at Caffi Maes B, a bonkers hour of brand new comedy shorts by Caryl Burke, Mari Elen, Geraint Lewis and Gruffydd Ywain.
Fy Enw i yw Rachel Corrie
As part of our ambition to create Welsh language work that addresses current issues and global conversations, we presented a package of work in the autumn to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and forge new creative links between young people in Wales and Palestine – with a new Welsh translation of the play My Name is Rachel Corrie and a creative project with ASHTAR Theatre, a theatre company in Ramallah, Palestine. We performed Menna Elfyn’s translation of Fy Enw i yw Rachel Corrie, starring Hannah Daniel as Rachel under the direction of Steffan Donnelly, in Caernarfon, Cardiff and Carmarthen. We also kept ticket prices low to encourage audiences to donate to relevant charities.
In a new international project between ASHTAR Theatre and Theatr Cymru, young participants from both countries took part in a series of workshops, aimed at amplifying young voices and fostering intercultural understanding. With support also from Literature Wales, the project will culminate in the creation of a tri-lingual poem in Arabic, Welsh and English, as well as a short film featuring young participants from Wales and Palestine. We can't wait to share this work with you in the new year.
Dawns y Ceirw
Our first co-production with National Dance Company of Wales – Casi Wyn's Dawns y Ceirw – concluded the year. Highly commended, this production for 5-9 year olds featured original music by Casi Wyn and dance by Osian Meilir and Sarah 'Riz' Golden. There were also opportunities for 800 children to take part in school workshops associated with the show.
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In addition to the above, we also facilitated participation opportunities across Wales. Young offenders at HMP Parc had the opportunity to take part in Criw Creu workshops in the spring, and we also supported Mewn Cymeriad with Betty Campbell workshops in schools across Wales. Ar y Dibyn - our long-term project for people affected by addiction - is going from strength to strength with new partners and workshops beginning in Aberystwyth. We also supported National Youth Theatre Wales with their production, Dal Gafael / Hold On. And the team also took part in the Pride Cymru parade for the first time this year, with lovely sustainable banners from Livia Jones.
We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in our work this year, whether as artists, freelancers or audience members across Wales. We look forward to another year of putting Wales and its people on the map in 2025.
Merry Christmas to you all!
