About Attic Theatre
Attic Theatre is a little gem of a space. With 84 seats it is quite an intimate theatre, entirely run by its volunteer members. It sits upstairs in Cawdor Hall in the middle of Newcastle Emlyn. This year we are presenting four productions and are planning to increase this to six a year. The members provide all the actors, directors, stage crew, costume makers, technical, stage managers, set builders, publicity, etc.
We have 37 members coming from all walks of life. We welcome all
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The history of the Company goes way back to 1932. Initially one play per year was presented, and also toured the local district. They entered and won many drama competitions and gave performances for charity. There was no break, even during the war years, when many young men were away in the forces.
Originally many of the young people working in Newcastle Emlyn came from outlying villages and lodged there during the week, returning home at the weekends. There was very little entertainment which is why some of these people got together and formed a dramatic society known as the ‘Newcastle Emlyn Dramatic Society’. Mr. James, the manager of Barclays Bank in the town, supported the group to rehearse their plays in the spacious attic above the bank and the name was changed to ‘The Attic Players’.
Meetings continued to be held in the attic above the bank for several years until 1945. Over the following 25 years or so the company rehearsed in a variety of places in the town until it settled in Cawdor Hall in 1973. This has been our home ever since. Many improvements have been carried out over the years. Initially the company had use of the theatre and a small kitchen backstage, hiring the Council Chamber, which was just behind the stage, as a dressing room during productions.
In 2003 the council moved downstairs into the newly refurbished building which allowed us to have full use of the space they’d been using. Renamed ‘The Studio’ this space gives us greater flexibility allowing us to run workshops, to have a good sized dressing room and to stretch out during rehearsal of large cast productions.
In 1976 the ‘Junior Attics’ for 8 to 18 year olds came into being. This group continues now as the JAGs group. See more about JAGS on their website or on Facebook.