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  Verbatim theatre is made from real people’s stories. Playwright Ceri Ashe has been working with people of all ages and backgrounds from across West Wales to gather stories about the highs, the lows, and truths of what life in this new normal means to them. This tapestry of true stories from young students, hardworking mothers, pensioners and grandparents to list a few, will be brought to life this winter via our ground-breaking, livestreamed Theatr Soffa project. From first hugs and first loves to buzzcuts and dancing like no one’s watching, this poignant, raw, and heartfelt verbatim show will take you on an emotional journey, and encourage you to reflect on what this new normal means to you. Book your free ticket here Theatr Soffa is an online community theatre company presenting live-streamed community performances through zoom in both English and Welsh. It was initially conceived as a creative way to connect rurally isolated and housebound individuals across Pembrokeshire through the arts and technology. To date, we have presented several additional livestreamed productions, including Under Milk Wood, Dan Y Wenallt, Dracula, A Child’s Christmas in Wales, Nadolig Plentyn yng Nghymru, and Lady Windermere’s Fan. During the Autumn, Pembrokeshire-born actor, playwright, […]

  In 2015, SPAN created Côr Pawb (Everyone’s Choir), a 70-100 strong mass community choir featuring singers ranging in age from six to ninety-six from across the county and beyond.   We are thrilled to announce that Côr Pawb will be back with a spectacular performance to draw the Narberth A Cappella Voice Festival to a close on Sunday the 5th of March 2023 at The Queen’s Hall. The mass choir will meet for a series of rehearsals in Clynderwen Community Hall led by experienced choir leaders Molara Awen (One Voice and Cân Sing), Maya Waldman (Sweet Harmony and Lleisiau Preseli Voices), and Tomos Hopkins (Côr Dysgwyr Sir Benfro). Rehearsal dates: 19th November, 7th January, 29th January, 18th February. Sessions will take place from 11am – 4pm. Rehearsals are free to attend, but donations are welcome. Founded upon the principles of community strength and resilience, Côr Pawb welcomes all voices, regardless of singing ability, to come together for an uplifting celebration of song. You don’t have to be a member of a choir or have sung before to join in. Everyone is welcome – experienced singers and newbies alike! We invite anyone interested in getting involved to the initial rehearsal

  In partnership with Menter Iaith Sir Benfro, Span Arts are absolutely delighted to present The John S. Davies Ensemble at our popular annual Advent Concert at 3pm on Sunday the 27th of November at Pisga Chapel, Llandissilio, SA66 7TF.   We are proud to welcome the renowned John S. Davies and his ensemble to the atmospheric candle-lit setting of Pisga Chapel. The talented group of professional singers, cathedral choristers, and music students selected by John S. Davies himself will treat audiences to a breathtaking and joyous hour of bilingual choral music to welcome the start of Advent. Formed in 1978, the John S. Davies Singers perform regularly at St David’s Cathedral, and have taken their major classics and wonderful new works, all of which are mostly unaccompanied by instruments, from London to Rome, and have performed at several festivals in Wales. John is a Fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where he was a student. As Founder and Artistic Director of the Fishguard International Music Festival (1970 – 2006) he was awarded the MBE in 1997, and has received various other awards for his work in music in Wales. Doors open at 2.30pm. The concert

  We are proud to announce the launch of a series of new codesigned projects that place community voices at centre stage. Following 6 months of creative conversations, these projects mark the start of an exciting chapter for SPAN as we embark upon a new cocreation process in collaboration with the community.   Chwedlau’r Normal Newydd / Tales from the New Normal: With support from the Arts Council of Wales and Comic Relief, we are working with Actor and playwright Ceri Ashe (Bipolar Me, Lockdown Tales: Making Bread and Babies) and Producer and Director Anna Sherratt (Rholiwch am Wellhad / Roll for Remission) to create Chwedlau’r Normal Newydd / Tales from the New Normal: a community-led, bilingual, online theatre piece that looks at the realities of life in a post-lockdown world. Performances will be live streamed online in December.   Unlimited Partner Awards commission: Alongside National Theatre Wales and the National Dance Company of Wales, we are proud to join the Unlimited partner commission for the first time. Unlimited commission extraordinary work by disabled artists that is rebellious, radical, adventurous, inspiring, and playful. We are seeking to work with a socially engaged disabled artist to create new work that has

  Save the date! NAVF is back this Spring. We are incredibly excited to announce that the Narberth A Cappella Voice Festival will be back in full swing from the 3rd – 5th of March 2023. Look forward to a festival weekend packed with live music, an incredible singing feast, as well as engaging and uplifting workshops led by a cappella masters. Book your full festival ticket here or via the box office on 01834 869323. Individual singing feast, concert, and workshop tickets will be available to book soon via the SPAN website. See below for the full festival schedule. Click here for more information about the artists involved. Stay tuned for more updates across our social media channels: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Supported by the Arts Council of Wales and Pembrokeshire County Council, in collaboration with The Queen’s Hall and Bethesda Chapel, Narberth.    NAVF 2023 Festival Schedule   Friday 3rd March   NAVF Singing Feast Date: Friday 3rd March 2023 Time: Doors open 6pm. Event begins 7pm Location: The Queen’s Hall, Narberth Saturday 4th March   NAVF Morning Workshops and Sharing Date: Saturday 4th March 2023 Time: Doors open for registration 9.30am. Workshops begins 10.30am -12.30pm with

  Cân Sing is a bi-monthly singing group for all abilities which celebrates the uplifting benefits of singing.    The group has been meeting for many years, with new additions along the way. It’s perfect if you are looking to sing regularly in a pressure free environment, or whether you fancy dropping in for a sing every so often. The pace of the teaching is easily accessible to all, with no time restraints. We are delighted to announce that sessions have returned to Narberth, and will take place at Bethesda Baptist Church, Narberth, at the regular time of 7.15 pm – 9.15 pm Vocal practitioner Molara will guide the group through an exploratory celebration of singing, focusing on strengthening the voice, overcoming some of the physical and emotional barriers to singing openly and freely, and above all, singing for enjoyment. The repertoire is varied with songs from Georgia, Ghana, Zimbabwe, and Hawaii with a few shanties and some pop thrown in for good measure. The project has provided vital support and connection and helped to improve people’s wellbeing at this most difficult time. Singers have found the experience “Stimulating, connecting and heart-warming” with “with just the right mix of warm

Pererin Wyf / Is oilithreach mé / I am a pilgrim: sounding the way back through story and song is a participatory arts project seeking to connect with the Welsh and Irish diaspora with particular reference to Pembrokeshire and Wexford and a new cross-border pilgrimage connecting these places. The project takes its title and inspiration from an 18th century hymn by the prolific Welsh writer William Williams Pantycelyn. The song widely known in Wales and beyond through the Welsh diaspora will be familiar to a great many other people around the globe as it is mostly sung to the tune of Amazing Grace. This project will invite people wherever they are in the world to sing this song, a version of this song or any song of special significance to them and the themes of this project and to pin that recording to our online map. Project participants will also have the chance to offer their personal reflections and connections to North Pembrokeshire and Wexford whether current resident, the home place of their forebears, or place of significance for other reasons. Click here to view the project page.   The project Pererin Wyf will begin in September 2022 with a series of

  We are thrilled to share that SPAN Arts have been announced as partners in Unlimited’s UK & International Partner Awards for Disabled Artists. Unlimited is an arts commissioning body that supports, funds and promotes new work by disabled artists for UK and international audiences. Since 2013, they have supported over 460 artists with over £4.9 million reaching audiences of over 5 million making it the largest supporter of disabled artists world-wide. In April 2022, Unlimited became an independent organisation with a mission to commission extraordinary work from disabled artists until the whole of the cultural sector does. In its first year of becoming an independent organisation, Unlimited are doing things differently to dismantle barriers disabled artists face and to support systemic and sustainable change. SPAN Arts is one of 17 UK organisations partnering with Unlimited to offer 20 awards to disabled artists. These awards will offer a grand total of £584,000 to commission artists on a national and international level. The awards will give disabled artists the chance to develop and present work across the country and/or internationally across rural and city locations, with a partner organisation for digital or in person, collective or individual experiences. The total commission pot