Now that the Autumn Season at The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre is drawing to a close, we thought it’s only right that we look back at some of the fantastic projects and events that we’ve been a part of over the past couple of months.
October was Dwarfism Awareness Month and The Riverfront was honoured to celebrate with the Short Perspectives exhibition run by Danielle Webb and supported by Urban Circle. The exhibition was launched with an event and screening of the film ‘Short Perspectives’. The exhibition highlighted accessibility, inclusion and encouraged people to learn about and celebrate people with dwarfism in our community.
The basement Gallery welcomed Artist Neale Howells and the Wales Coastal Path Anniversary Exhibition. The Riverfront were one of the many hosts of the pop-up events organised to mark and celebrate the 10th anniversary of the coastal path.
October also saw the launch of ‘ROOTS’, our monthly art club for women and girls from global minority communities, the International Roma Conference and a big farewell to the lighthouse project with a lantern parade and series of workshops.
From 29 October to 5 November all Newport Live’s venues were bustling with children taking part in the October half term activities. We saw the return of the popular workshops like Heidi Makes, Oh! Susannah Sewing Club and Crafty Saturdays, as well as new ones, including Future Creatives which was in partnership with the Institute of Welsh affairs. For more information on workshops at the Riverfront head to our website Upcoming Performances | Performances at The Riverfront Theatre & Arts Centre (newportlive.co.uk) or contact Box Office on 01633 656757.
As part of the Newport Rising festival, The Riverfront hosted the Creative Conversations workshop where people created collages using Welsh newspapers and magazines and held interesting conversations about the future of the country. The festival was a huge success and continues to recognise the importance of the event in Newport’s history.
Every year Newport Live support the weekend long festival, Art on The Hill, which celebrates Newport’s creative community and their work. This year The Riverfront hosted the Makers Market which brings together independent artisans, makers, artists, and businesses to create a brilliant, local community market. The day was a huge success and we’re already looking forward to next year.
Our wonderful performance spaces at The Riverfront have been as busy as ever, with both our main theatre and studio theatre staging a huge variety of performances. We heard from ITV’s Tour De France commentator, Ned Boulting; we were blown away by the powerful performance, Angel by Torch Theatre and we had a huge audience with the family show, The Owl at Home by Theatr Iolo. Theatr Bara Caws also came to The Riverfront with their hugely successful performance, Un Noson Ola Leuad. The Riverfront’s scratch night, Cultivate, returned, but this time with students from the University of South Wales.
In continuation with their amazing work with the community, our Arts Development and Engagement team have worked with Llamau, a charity which supports young people at risk of homelessness and the Families Together group which supports new mums in combating isolation and depression. Group trips to the panto and a variety of workshops were organised with the different groups.
We were delighted to see the return of the Riverfront Pantomime. The Theatre has been decorated with ivy, giant letters and signs that have been beautifully decorated by local schools and groups, many of the letters and signs were kindly donated by Smurfitt Kappa. Recognising that Christmas can be a lonely or difficult time for some, this year a special focus has been placed on wellbeing. The Art Gallery has a wellbeing wall with a tree decorated with gratitude letters written by children in local schools. Please take a moment to visit the gallery, read the letters and even write your own.
The Riverfront hosted a guest night on the 1 December, welcoming friends, colleagues and supporters of the venue. The evening was a huge success and the performance has received rave reviews. Entertainment South Wales described the show as a ‘’smash hit panto’’ that is ‘’undoubtedly the must-see event in Newport this Christmas’’ and Wales Online rated the performance ‘’one billion out of 10’’.
Robin Hood is in the theatre until the 7 of January, so if you haven’t already, book your tickets now: Newport Live | Events
Like every other season, this one has been a busy one. With so much going on, it’s impossible to summarise it all in one. Thank you to everyone to took part, supported and attended any events and activities we’ve organised. If you’d like to join in and get involved please email us on customerservice@newportlive.co.uk or call us on 01633 656757.
