Since 2019 we have made new theatre – with original music, poetry and film – telling the stories of the communities we perform in. Choose a production to find out more, see photos and watch films.
2026 · Merthyr Tydfil, Pontypridd & Aberdare
Oh! Oh! Antonio
Stephen J Preston’s first full-length play for professional theatre follows a chapel-going family in Maerdy over several days in 1918, as the war ends and a stranger arrives with news that shakes them to the core. With an original score, new poetry by Professor Kevin Mills and film by Chris Lloyd. It played at Theatr Soar, Merthyr Tydfil, Garth Olwg, Pontypridd and St Elvan’s Church, Aberdare from 3 to 6 November 2026.
2026 · Aberdare, Cardiff & Nova Scotia
Baaaard to the Bone
A comedy for people who think they hate Shakespeare, by Vic Mills and Mike Church: sword fights, royal meltdowns, awkward ghosts and filthy jokes. Played at St Elvan’s, Aberdare and Insole Court, Cardiff in summer 2026, then at the Liverpool International Theatre Festival in Nova Scotia in October. We hope to bring it back in 2027.
2025 · On tour in Canada, October 2026
Care for All
In October 2026 we took Care for All, first staged in 2025, across the Atlantic to the Liverpool International Theatre Festival at the historic Astor Theatre in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, with music by our Musical Director and composer Stephen J Preston. Here is the festival’s own post about the production, and you can see photos from the trip on our Facebook page.
2025 · Theatr Soar, Merthyr Tydfil
For the Love of Merthyr
Working with Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, we brought a new play set in 1948 to Theatr Soar in October 2025, telling the story of the first weeks of the NHS in the town and the arrival of the huge and transformational Hoover factory that same year. Primary and secondary school pupils from across the borough saw free matinee performances.
2023 – 24 · Blaengarw and touring
Price of Change
A play about the great Dr Richard Price of Llangeinor, staged initially in Blaengarw in September 2023 to celebrate the tercentenary of Price’s birth, and then toured South Wales in 2024.
2023 · Borough Theatre, Abergavenny
Sanctuary – The Secrets of the Gunter Mansion
A play about the experiences of religious refugees, combining a story from 1605 with the experiences of refugees in Abergavenny today. Performed at the Borough Theatre in Abergavenny in June 2023.
2022 & 2024 · Touring South Wales
Elvis – The Rhondda Years
A musical farce about a dysfunctional Welsh family of Elvis tribute performers, which toured around South Wales during 2022 and 2024.
2019 · Our first production
Cadoc and the Drowned Boys
Written by award-winning playwright and director Vic Mills, inspired by the research and poetry of his brother, Professor Kevin Mills, the play explores the life of the 5th century abbot. It retells the ancient tale of two young men who drowned in the sea between Barry and Flat Holm, reimagined as the focus of a project by three modern-day drama students. As their roles merge with those of the ancient characters, questions of faith, intolerance, morality and identity are explored.
The characters, played by Matthew Curran, Jemima Nicholas and Gareth Price-Stephens, uncover a darker story than they could have imagined; of abuse, misogyny and obsession.
Explaining the reasons for co-writing the play, Prof Kevin Mills said: “Place names have interested me since childhood, and a few years ago I started to notice that South East Wales has many churches dedicated to Cadoc / Catwg, and several villages are also named after him. His influence on the post-Roman shaping of Wales must have been very significant for the traces of it to survive into the present.”
The play’s Director, Vic Mills, added: “Churches are incredibly theatrical spaces, and what goes on in them is theatrical, so they lend themselves to drama.”
