The Park & Dare is a former miners’ institute. Its construction in 1913 was funded by the mine workers of the local Park and Dare Collieries. Despite the closure of both mines in 1966, the theatre remains the cultural hub of the area.
The residency will be led by a world premiere – a new, autobiographical play by Dylan Thomas Prize-winning author Rachel Trezise, titled Tonypandemonium.
The play is billed as an “hilarious, heartbreaking and autobiographical account of a daughter’s fraught, decade-spanning relationship with her beautiful, fun-loving and alcoholic mother”.
Trezise, who was born in Rhondda, said: “What a thrill for me to be able to premier my work in my hometown, a couple of miles from where the play is actually set.”
Other events include the staging of a new version of Brecht’s Mother Courage written by Ed Thomas, and a two-day festival of new writing hosted by NTW and Welsh company Dirty Protest.
National Theatre Wales, which was launched in 2009, is a non-building based company that aims to create “invigorating theatre in the English language, rooted in Wales, with an international reach”.
