Historic Wrexham theatre celebrates its 100th anniversary

Wrexham arts venue the Stiwt Theatre celebrates its 100th anniversary this month, and its importance as a cultural landmark for local people and visitors.

Located in the village of Rhosllannerchrugog, which is south west of Wrexham, the Stiwt – derived from Miners’ Institute (Plas Mwynwyr) – opened in September 1926 and has its roots in the area’s mining heritage and working-class history. The theatre was built by the Miner’s Welfare Organisation, which levied a penny on each ton of extracted coal during the depression years between 1924-1926. Despite their own meagre wages, the miners also spared tuppence per week to ensure the construction of the building could proceed.

Since then, the Stiwt has always been more than a theatre. It’s a place to perform, meet, learn – a social, educational and cultural home for generations of people from all ages and background who have come through its doors.

But the Stiwt is also a story of resilience, with thousands of local people coming together a second time to fight for their local theatre after it closed in 1977 and fell into disrepair. Threatened with demolition, a grassroots campaign and community fundraising led to the building being restored and reopened in September 1996. Now, and Grade II listed, it attracts audiences for its programme of theatre, comedy and music, alongside a wide range of cultural activities for local people.

To celebrate its centenary, the Stiwt is presenting In A Hundred Years / Ymhen Can Mlynedd, a new bilingual production led by award-winning producer-writer Bethan Jones and director Daniel Lloyd of Theatr Clwyd. Taking place on 25 and 26 September, the show is supported by a community team, with Llŷr Evans as scriptwriter, and new poems by Gwynne Williams. Together they have shaped a production that carries a century of memories forward, telling a story that is as much about what comes next as what has come before.

In A Hundred Years / Ymhen Can Mlynedd features a cast of familiar names, local performers and community groups on the same stage, including actors Mark Lewis Jones, Stifyn Parri, Llŷr Williams, Caitlin Drake, Catrin Mai Edwards, Daniel Lloyd, Dylan Davies and Dyfed Thomas. They will be joined by the Rhos Male Voice Choir, Cantorion Rhos, Theatr Ifanc, Lleisiau Lannerch, a barbershop quartet, and a host of performers from the local community.

Rhos-born producer and actor Stifyn Parri says: “Rhos has never exactly been short on talent, character or humour, so this was never going to be a quiet birthday party. What makes this production so special is that it brings familiar names, local performers and the community together on the same stage. That feels very true to the Stiwt.”

Bethan Jones, BAFTA Cymru-winning producer and writer, whose mother Nancy was involved in the “Save the Stiwt” campaign, says: “There is a well- known saying: ‘Rhos is a people not a place’ and the Stiwt has been at the heart of the community supporting education, arts, culture and language for a century. We wanted to tell the Stiwt’s story through the people who filled it with life and those who have ensured its survival; to acknowledge the past, celebrate the present and look forward to the future.”

Daniel Lloyd, director of In A Hundred Years / Ymhen Can Mlynedd, who was born and raised in Rhos, adds: “This isn’t about treating history as something distant. The Stiwt is still a living, working, much-loved place, and the production looks back with pride and affection. But it also has the energy of a building that isn’t finished yet. I grew up watching what this place meant to people here, and that’s stayed with me ever since.”

Morgan Thomas, Bid Coordinator for Wrecsam2029, Wrexham’s bid for UK City of Culture 2029, comments: “I stood on that stage as a teenager, and I still remember what that felt like. The Stiwt gives people a place to find their voice, and that’s what our bid celebrates. If Wrexham becomes City of Culture, it’ll be because of places like the Stiwt, and the people who have shown up for it, generation after generation.”