National Theatre Wales Wins £483,000 Grant To Work With Emerging Companies

National Theatre Wales is launching an unprecedented five-year project to help up-and-coming theatre companies and artists explore new ideas, thanks to a generous grant from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

The programme, entitled WalesLab, will give theatre practitioners a rare chance to develop their ideas in locations across Wales. Under the guidance of National Theatre Wales, they will share the results of their work online and at artist ‘summer camps'. Up to 240 artists will be reached directly through the programme over the five-year period, with many more benefitting through online elements.

Funding of up to £483,000 will be given over the course of the programme, all of which will go directly to work with emerging artists and companies.

National Theatre Wales is mid-way through its critically-acclaimed launch year, bringing an extraordinary range of theatre to locations across the country. WalesLab (named in tribute to the seminal company Cardiff Lab, which brought a range of new theatre ideas to Wales and the UK in the 1980s) will build on the company's reputation for reaching new audiences in unexpected places.

Dawn Austwick, Chief Executive of Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, said:
"Esmée Fairbairn's support for WalesLab is one of a series of grants to enable established theatres to nurture and support emerging theatre practitioners. This fits into our aim to support the long term health of the arts, using different funding models to reach organisations across the UK."

National Theatre Wales Artistic Director John McGrath said: "Theatre is flourishing in Wales, with an extraordinary range of companies and artists spreading their creative wings. WalesLab will give them a unique opportunity to try out ideas in a supportive yet challenging environment. We will bring the best and newest ideas to locations and audiences across the country, and share ideas and discoveries through our digital networks. It's an exciting way to support emerging artists and explore the future of theatre. We are immensely grateful to the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for this huge vote of confidence in National Theatre Wales, and in the Welsh creative scene."

National Theatre Wales receives funding from the Welsh Assembly Government, via the Arts Council of Wales. Heritage Minister Alun FFrEd Jones AM said of the grant: "The establishment of a national English-language theatre was a key Welsh Assembly Government commitment. National Theatre Wales has begun to make a huge impact on the arts landscape in Wales, and the team have shown flair and generosity in their early collaborations with other companies. It is hugely important that new ideas should be tested and new talent given opportunities. I congratulate National Theatre Wales on securing this funding from a prestigious foundation, and will watch with interest as the new hub develops."