Theatr Clwyd confirms June reopening with four world premieres

Theatr Clwyd will reopen its doors to audiences in June for the first time in more than a year, with a programme that includes four world premieres.

The line-up will feature a festival of new work by Welsh playwrights and a co-production with London’s Royal Court, and will see indoor audiences return to the theatre for the first time since the pandemic began.

The Welsh theatre will also bring back its outdoor stage for two months this summer, with a festival of theatre, music, dance, comedy and family shows.

Its indoor reopening in June will follow a planned relaxation of the restrictions in Wales on May 17. Welsh theatres have been prevented from opening to indoor audiences since March 2020.

All productions in Theatr Clwyd’s reopening season will have contingencies in place for live streaming or outdoor performance spaces.

Artistic director Tamara Harvey said of the plans: "Theatres in Wales are finally, for the first time in 14 months, able to open. So right now, we know we can share this brilliant season with our audiences here in our building. If there’s a moment when that becomes impossible, we’ll find new and different ways of sharing these stories across the miles.

"But whatever happens, we will make theatre. Because now more than ever, our audiences and our artists need us to bring everyone together to laugh and cry, and celebrate our shared humanity. It’s time.”

The season will begin in June with the premiere of Alan Harris’ new comedy For the Grace of You Go I. Starring Remy Beasley, Darren Jeffries and Rhodri Meilir, the play will be directed by James Grieve. It will open on June 12, and run until June 25, while a filmed version of the show will also be released later in the year.

The reopening season will also include Tim Price’s new play Isla, which is being co-produced with London’s Royal Court and explores machine learning and AI. The play will be directed by Harvey.

Elsewhere, the Mold venue will stage a three-week festival of new plays from 15 Welsh playwrights, directed by Harvey and featuring 30 actors. It will take place in August, with writers including Meredydd Barker, Katherine Chandler, Lisa Parry, Alun Saunders, Ming Ho and Jennifer Lunn.

Playwright Kaite O’Reilly has adapted Strindberg’s Miss Julie into a 20th-century reworking of the play, called Missing Julie. It will open in September. The play’s director is yet to be announced and will be recruited through the theatre’s Open Hire scheme, which allows freelance creatives to apply for the job.