REVIEW: The Ballad of Johnny and June at The New Theatre This week, The New Theatre is presenting The Ballad of Johnny and June  which portrays the love story between the legendary Johnny Cash, and his loving wife June Carter Cash. We were invited to last night's (Tuesday 10 March) opening night. The story is told through the eyes of John Carter Cash, the pair's beloved son, played by Ryan O’Donnell, who tells the tale of his parents' love story, mentioning the highs and lows

REPORT: Friends of Rhiwbina Library talk - Stories of the Stars: an evening storytelling event for grown-ups    W hat did our ancestors see when they looked up? How did they make meaning of the constellations above them, the night skies, and the shapes of light that pinpricked the darkness?  In celebration of Wales Dark Skies Week, award-winning storyteller Tamar Williams presented legends of the stars on a wet and windy evening at Rhiwbina Library (Friday 20 February), delvi

REVIEW: '2:22 A Ghost Story' at New Theatre This award-winning supernatural drama from the pen of Uncanny podcaster Danny Robins opened in Cardiff last night (Monday) to an enthusiastic reception. There are goosebumps, jump-scares, and laughter, as the events of one night unfold in the old house, where new parents Jenny (Shvorne Marks) and Sam (James Bye) are trying to settle in. Jenny is convinced the house is haunted - she hears noises at 2:22 every night in their baby's be

REPORT: Friends of Rhiwbina Library author talk - Ruth Binney on 'Life with Plants' This week (Tuesday 10 February), the Friends of Rhiwbina Library welcomed author and gardener Ruth Binney  to give a talk about her life and the books she has written about plants, gardening, and the gardening communities she has been a part of. She brought us back in time to just after the war, discussing her childhood growing up in Tiverton, Devon with her father as a housemaster at a boys'

REVIEW: 'Full House' at The Sherman Theatre, Cardiff Full House brings bingo and the valleys together to tell a sad, yet heart-warming story of a girl seemingly content with her lot but dreaming of better things. The performance took place in the Sherman Theatre studio, the seating in cabaret style and the set resembling a bingo hall, complete with obligatory glitter and glitz. The audience, or the bingo participants, were entertained by an '80s playlist and by Sam, bingo ca

REVIEW: 'Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts' at New Theatre, Cardiff Audiences at the New Theatre this week are transported back to Oxford in 1987 - for the first stage production of Inspector Morse . House of Ghosts , which began its Cardiff run tonight (Tuesday), opens with a production of Hamlet at the Oxford Playhouse. All is going well in this play within a play, until the promising young actress playing Ophelia collapses and dies on stage. Amid the panic and distress, he

REPORT: Friends of Rhiwbina Library author talk - Professor John Aggleton on 'Memory: Losing, Using, and Improving' Professor John Aggleton of Cardiff University joined the Friends of Rhiwbina Library, this week (Tuesday 9 December) to speak about the brain and memory; how we use it, lose it, and ways to improve it.   A world expert in neuroscience , John’s research has expanded the scientific community's (and now the local Rhiwbina community's!) understanding of how memory i

REVIEW: 'Sleeping Beauty' at The New Theatre Panto season is back and is in full swing at The New Theatre, with Sleeping Beauty ! We all know the story of Princess Aurora, who sadly lost both of her parents. She is raised by Nurse Nellie, and is protected by her, and the Spirit of Pantomine up until her 21st birthday when the evil Carabosse is plotting her revenge in order to get the throne. Luckily for Aurora, she has the help of Nurse Nellie, the Spirit of Pantomine, Muddle

REVIEW: 'The Frog Prince' at Sherman Theatre The Frog Prince is currently playing at The Sherman Theatre, and we were lucky enough to go and have front row seats to one of the performances! It follows the story of a young princess, Biwti, and her father, the King, who both love Christmas. Like most families, they spend the day together celebrating and want the day, as well as everything else in life, to be “perfect”. During the planning of their special day, her father gifts

REVIEW: 'Alice: Return to Wonderland' at Sherman Theatre The seasonal festive cracker from the Sherman Theatre was much anticipated in our house after a couple of immensely pleasing December visits, and it once again exceeded all expectations. Billed as a spectacular and supremely silly adventure into Wonderland, the show is based on Lewis Carroll's 1871 novel, Through the Looking-Glass . But we are removed to a 1940s Cardiff via the direction and words of Sherman regular Han

REVIEW: 'Death on the Nile' at New Theatre, Cardiff A new production of an Agatha Christie classic has arrived in Cardiff, offering the chance to leave chilly South Wales for a luxurious cruise under the Egyptian sun. Death on the Nile opened to a packed house at the New Theatre last night (Tuesday 25 November), and the audience was not disappointed. This is another high quality Christie adaptation from the team that gave us Murder on the Orient Express earlier this year. W

REVIEW: 'Fiddler on the Roof' at New Theatre, Cardiff A packed audience responded with a standing ovation for the opening performance of the classic musical Fiddler on the Roof 's Cardiff run last night (Tuesday). After a sold-out season at the Barbican in London, this Olivier Award-winning production is now nearing the end of a hugely successful UK and Ireland tour. And what a treat it is. The show, which won the Oliviers for Best Musical Revival, Best Set Design, and Best S

REPORT: Friends of Rhiwbina Library author talk - Professor Richard Thomas on 'Reporting Elections: Rethinking the Logic of Campaign Coverage' Professor Richard Thomas joined the Friends of Rhiwbina Library this week (Tuesday 11 November) to give an engaging talk on how politics and general elections are covered by journalists and news organisations. A professor at Swansea University and head of its School of Culture and Communication, Richard has written extensively about bi

REVIEW: 'Murder at Midnight' at New Theatre, Cardiff It's New Year's Eve in the fancy Kent home of one-eyed gangster, pig farmer, and Robbie Williams fanatic, Jonny 'The Cyclops' Drinkwater. Jonny (played by TV and stage favourite Jason Durr) also owns seven angry Rottweilers and can get angry himself. When he does, those who get in his way may find themselves murdered, chopped up, and fed to the pigs. So, when he arrives home unexpectedly, just as his girlfriend (Katie McGly

REVIEW: 'No Man's Land' at Sherman Theatre, Cardiff The title of No Man's Land - whose press night we attended last night (Wednesday 15 October) - suggests an unflinching theatrical journey through modern masculinity, and that is what's delivered. It also suggests necessary psychological detachment or abandon in the face of pure horror, of wartime battlefields and 'going over the top' to face an enemy, a state of unknowable terrifying existential limbo. The theme of conflict

REVIEW: 'Slava's SnowShow' at New Theatre, Cardiff Unique, bizarre, surreal, fantastic, joyful, spectacular, unforgettable. It's hard to find the right adjectives for Slava’s SnowShow , but all of those apply - and more. This multi award-winning show, which debuted in Moscow more than 30 years ago, and reached international audiences at the 1996 Edinburgh Festival, is back touring the UK, and we were at tonight's (Wednesday 15 October) opening of its Cardiff run. Slava’s Snow

REPORT: Friends of Rhiwbina Library author talk - Matthew Yeomans on 'Seascape: Notes from a changing coastline' Around 60% of the...

REVIEW: 'Myra's Story' at New Theatre For the second time this year, Cardiff theatre-goers were treated to a performance of the...

REVIEW: 'Romeo a Juliet' at Sherman Theatre A new bilingual production of Shakespeare's romantic tragedy has opened in Cardiff this week....

REVIEW: Surge performed by the National Dance Company Wales at The Sherman Theatre, Cardiff National Dance Company Wales have debuted...