Theatr Brycheiniog Set to Stimulate your Heart, Mind…and Imagination this Spring

Solid Gold 70’s Show

Spring brings rejuvenation at Theatr Brycheiniog, with the launch of a fresh new programme brimming with stimulating activities and events. With the brand new Corporate Support Club, spring at the theatre is a time of fresh activity.

February welcomes Brecknock Young Farmers’ Club (5 – 10 February) with their incredibly popular Pantomime, Drama and One Plus Festival. This year marks their 70th annual weeklong festival and is sure to be a sell out yet again!

Mountaineer, wall-climber and winter expedition writer Andy Kirkpatrick (12 February) gives a fascinating Speakers from the Edge talk to coincide with the release of award winning film, Psychovertical. Brecon born Christina Rogers appears as Just Adele (16 February) in a home-coming concert packed to the brim with hits, and 100 young musicians in glorious harmony take part in the 21st Rorke’s Drift Concert (12 February). Woman of Flowers (20 February) marks the season’s first great Welsh drama as this dynamic production based on the ancient Mabinogion tells the legend of Saunders Lewis’ Blodeuwedd as never before. The first celebrity guest arrives as Jimmy Osmond (23 February) pays tribute to legendary Andy Williams in Moon River and Me. NDCWales returns with their atmospheric new triple bill show, Terra Firma, (26 February). The show will feature stunning choreography by Caroline Finn, Marcon Morau and Mario Bermudez Gil. NDCWales are also inviting audiences to learn some moves in their Discover Dance workshop (27 February). Ending February is a very special St. David’s Day concert, An Evening with the Band of the Welsh Guards. (28 February). All proceeds will be donated to the Armed Forces charity, SSAFA.

March begins with award-winning comedian Stewart Lee, (7 March), then takes a dramatic turn with The Wood, (8 March) a powerful drama written to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War I. The Wood, written by Owen Thomas, tells the tale of friendship, love and sacrifice against the backdrop of the Battle of the Somme. The hugely successful And Finally… present the Phil Collins Collection 2018 Tour (10 March), covering all the classics from In the Air Tonight to a selection from the Genesis archive. Mid Wales Music Trust presents a free, interactive show for primary schools, The Lost Box of Stories (12 March), and Dawns Powys Dance celebrates the work of their dance session participants of all ages and abilities in MARCH/ FORWARD (16 March). Academic David Starkey presents an entertaining and provocative talk, Henry VIII: The First Brexiteer? (17 March), and music fans will be blown away by the eclectic mix of gypsy swing, jazz and blues music performed by the Remi Harris Trio (18 March). Banff Mountain Film Festival (20 March) returns for another spectacular evening of extraordinary short films sure to ignite the audience’s passion for action, adventure and travel! Tchaikovsky’s sweeping lyricisms and Pushkin’s heart-breaking story is explored by Mid Wales Opera in Eugene Onegin, (21 March). The free 21st Sir John Lloyd Memorial Lecture (23 March) explores Justice in Brecknock Over the Centuries with Lord Thomas, and the Explosive Light Orchestra (24 March) returns for another epic night of rock classics and melodic symphonic rock after blowing us away in their last show.

March ends on a terrifying high with the latest incarnation from The Circus of Horors: Voodoo (26 March).  Expect bizarre circus acts, a shock-horror story and unbelievable dark magic, guaranteed to scare!

April’s begins with There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly (4 & 5 April), a magical show based on the well-loved nursery rhyme, filled to the brim with sing a long songs, colourful animals and heart warming fun. Family fun continues with the free Family Dance Festival (7 & 8 April) a jam-packed hour of pop-up dance from three wonderful Welsh companies.

There is a very special show on 12 April, Our Life With Birds: Lloyd and Rose Buck; enjoy a rare opportunity to not only see Golden Eagles, Peregrine Falcons, Hawks, and Owls live on stage, but also to experience them flying over the audience!

Television actor and Spandau Ballet star, Martin Kemp, talks candidly about his amazing career in An Audience With Martin Kemp (14 April), and Bellowhead lead singer and ‘stand out performer of his generation’ (The Guardian) Jon Boden (17 April) performs hits from his brand new album ‘Afterglow.’

Pupils from eight local schools perform as part of South Powys Dance Festival (20 April), and Ballet Central (25 April) brings a performance from young dancers on the cusp of their professional careers. There will be samples from Black Swan, Sleeping Beauty, Valley of Shadows and many more. Welsh speakers and learners will not want to miss a stirring adaption of period drama Miss Julie (26 April) performed in Welsh, a thrilling revival of August Strindberg’s 20th Century classic. A night of glamrock greats, power ballads and party anthems await as the golden age of pop is revisited in Solid Gold 70s Show (27 April). Vamos Theatre sees the season out in style with A Brave Face (28 April). The place: Afghanistan. The year: 2009. Post-traumatic stress is explored in Vamos’ trademark, wordless, full mask style.

The Andrew Lamont Gallery will host three exhibitions this season. The Taff Trail Trajectory (18 January – 25 February) is Fiona Harper’s personal journey of paint documenting the beauty of the Taff Trail. Coinciding with Brecon Women’s Festival is Abstract Edge, (2 March – 8 April) an exhibition of paintings from an artists’ collective comprising mostly of women. Vulgar Earth (12 April – 20 May) displays painting, sculpture and installation, reawakening realisations of the direction humanity has taken.

Theatr Brycheiniog continues to offer a range of classes and activities, as well as regular monthly fixtures such as the Comedy Club on the last Friday of every month. For details about these activities, performances, or anything else,

please visit brycheiniog.co.uk or call the Box Office on 01874 611622.

Nia Sandford

Filed under: Community
Saturday, February 3rd, 2018 at 3:00 am