Theatr Brycheiniog – A Year in Review

2022 welcomed transformations in all wonderful forms!

From the easing of Covid regulations towards the start of the year, to an invigorating fresh rebrand and refurbish of our much loved and well used building. 

February’s half term saw the magical Flossy & Boo take to the stage with The Girl Who Couldn’t Pretend. Inspiring new and younger generations to harness the power of imagination and creativity, this beautiful story of a young girl who learns to pretend came to life thanks to live original music, fun characters, and audience interaction. 

Max Boyce welcomed the fantastic return of large-scale audiences with a phenomenal sell out show that was filled with music, singing and incredibly infectious laughter and applause. With Covid regulations easing, we were beyond pleased and thankful to see new and familiar faces smiling within the crowd and the spectacular energy set the tone for the year to come. 

Banff Mountain Film Festival sparked the need for adventure in all of us, by showcasing some of the most remarkable, inspiring and adrenaline fuelled short films that tell the story of the relationships between ourselves and the mighty power of the natural world. From scaling the side of great cliffs and boulders to racing down the sharpest edges of snowy mountains, the incredible beauty of these images and films allowed viewers to travel to some of the most dangerous, yet prepossessing parts of the world. 

Spring established Baby B! A new, creative, stimulating, and inspiring parent and child activity group consisting of story time and songs that enables babies and young children to experience the benefits of theatre and the arts from an early age. Along with the little ones, we continue to grow thanks to the greatly appreciated feedback and participation from parents. We hope you continue to join us every Wednesday morning during half term and look forward to plenty more songs and smiles in the new year! 

As the season changed to summer, our building undertook an exhilarating transformation of its own thanks to a much needed and greatly anticipated refurbishment, which has created a new space that continues to evolve and positively greets new and returning audience members to Theatr Brycheiniog. First the bar and then our café and foyer, we have enjoyed welcoming everyone to our new and improved spaces and would like to thank you for continuing to occupy our building with support, kindness and community whilst immersing yourselves in our varied programme and events. 

We also now have a small, but always expanding gift shop located in our foyer opposite the Visitor Experience and Box Office desk. We stock beautiful, curated, and crafted items and gifts from artists, makers and producers with the local community and surrounding areas as well as products and merchandise related to performances within our programme. 

Formed in Nashville, Tennessee, the world-renowned bluegrass band Hayseed Dixie took to our auditorium in July. Performing covers of hard rock songs and original songs of a mostly satirical or absurdist nature in a self – created musical genre which the band calls “rock grass”. 

Legendary Welsh rugby player Shane Williams shared the extraordinary secrets of his illustrious career in An Evening with Shane Williams. Shane was a Welsh rugby union player for his long and successful tenure as a wing for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. This was a great evening for fans of Welsh rugby as they had the chance to get up close and personal with Shane, as he lifted the lid on life on and off the pitch. 

Collaborations with Theatr na nÓg presented a trip back in time to the 70s and the story of the remarkable undercover operation that smashed one of the most extraordinary drug rings the world has ever seen. Hardly your typical drugs bust, Operation Julie saw packed houses in Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Lyric Theatre and of course, here at Theatr Brycheiniog. A story crammed with suspense, exhilaration, incredible vocals, the groovy sounds of prog rock and the ambition to change the world, we were beyond thrilled to have sell out performances and are delighted that you loved it as much as we did! 

We were also thrilled to be collaborating with both Theatr na nÓg and Y Gaer for The Trial of Elgan Jones. The story of a 14-year-old boy who has been charged with poaching, theft and murder and sentenced to death, this interactive Victorian experience turned audience members into a live jury thanks to being played out with a historic court room located within the Y Gaer museum. With the scenery set, students from local schools in Brecon and the surrounding areas sat at the heart of the proceedings and heard evidence mixed with witness enactments. This incredible and educational experience pushed spectators to listen, consider and collaborate before delivering a necessary verdict. Theatr na nÓg’s schools’ packages specifically target themes of literacy, humanities, health and well-being and participants left being able to consider different perspectives of a debate taking social, moral and economic factors into account. 

The fantastic tribute band, The Upbeat Beatles, saw audience members get up, sing and dance to some of the Beatles most famous and classic songs. Having been together for more than fifteen years, this band have toured all over Britain and Europe to keep the world’s favourite song book alive. 

We embraced creative opportunities for young people in Brecon and the surrounding areas with our new Young Music Promoters Club which aims to give the future generations experience in creating and promoting musical and creative events. 

October saw the return of the always popular Brecon Baroque Festival. Established by Rachel Podger in 2006, Brecon Baroque Festival is committed to providing the next generation with wonderous opportunities for students and young musicians by encouraging involvement and having the chance to play alongside musicians at the height of their profession. Each October Rachel gathers some of the world’s leading period musicians for a long weekend of performances and workshops in Brecon Catherdral and Theatr Brycheiniog. This year, bookended by talks and walks of Brecon town, was just as successful as ever! We can’t wait until next year’s inspiring and collaborative performances. 

Our auditorium was completely transformed for SKIDS 45^th Anniversary Show as our stalls seating turned into a flat floored standing area. Crowds danced and sang the night away to punk rock and new wave and marvelled in the sounds and atmosphere from this phenomenal and much-loved band. 

From November we implemented our warm spaces initiative, which not only consists of inviting the community to use our public spaces to work and relax in, but also to join us for free midday screenings of various much-loved classic films. 

Our café menu continues to evolve thanks to the development and aspiration of our new kitchen lead coordinators. We continue to strive to make our menu as locally sourced as possible as well as utterly delicious and cater options for all dietary requirements (such as vegetarian, vegan and gluten free). We are now delighted to be serving breakfast as well as lunch, cakes, snacks, soft drinks, teas, and coffees (from Black Mountain Roast). 

December welcomed the return of Brecon Festival Ballet with a full-scale version of Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet, The Nutcracker, presented with The Welsh Chamber Orchestra. Crowned the world’s most popular ballet, The Nutcracker is performed to packed houses each Christmas and is a winning combination of Tchaikovsky’s beautiful music featuring famous and familiar tunes, a magical story involving a Christmas party, a journey through the Christmas Wood and a feast of iconic dances in the Kingdom of Sweets, ruled over by the Sugar Plum Fairy. Brecon Festival Ballet’s magnificent production was created by Artistic Director Katy Sinnadurai and all principal roles were performed by professional ballet dancers, with children’s and character roles taken by local dance students and actors. The astonishing and inspirational corps de ballet roles were performed by full time students from King’s International Ballet Academy. Audiences from every performance of The Nutcracker left Theatr Brycheiniog full of Christmas spirit and excited for the festive season ahead. 

We would like to thank everyone for their continued support throughout 2022 and bearing with us as our building slowly adjusts and reflects all our positive hopes for the future. In particular we would like to thank our volunteers and stewards for their continuous hard work and support, who’s roles are vital and without we would be unable to deliver such fantastic shows. 

We hope to see you in 2023 and look forward to continuing to create a varied and diverse programme that is packed with music, drama, comedy, dance, and inspirational talks that are guaranteed to inspire, invigorate, spark creativity, and speak to everyone of all generations.