Dear Friends

They tell me that a cat has nine lives. Well, my friends, I have travelled a long journey and am now settled in a new world and the start of my second life – my first having been lived, in what I believe to be an almost perfect paradise – the Theatre world.

Theatre folk are a family – not blood related but joined by creativity, by dreams, by shared success and – yes – sometimes by failure! I have shared all, enjoyed all and loved long, for we Thespians know that total dedication and love is an absolute requirement for the aspiring artist and actor. He that chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath – so says Shakespeare.

To be or not to be!
In these difficult and confusing times it is hard to remain positive about the future, especially when our town of Llandovery seems to be reflecting a general loss of energy; we have lost our children and their secondary school, our shops are mostly empty, to attend a bank we have to queue up in the car park and our wonderful post office is about to close.

As actors, we are aware that the Thespian life is often precarious – but Llandovery Theatre is about to reach its 40 year anniversary, it is named in a recent Review of the Theatre memoir *What country friends is this? as ‘possibly the most beautiful small theatre arts centre in the Kingdom’ – surely a good time for renewal of hope, a time for celebration! If you would like to know more – go on the theatre Web page and click ‘contact us’ and leave us a message – we read everything and we will respond.

The Sleeping Beauty
Llandovery is a Conservation Town, it has a proud and exciting history linked to its Roman and Ricardian connections, with a landscape setting in the shadow of the Black Mountains that cannot be equalled for beauty – but Llandovery sleeps – and a Sleeping Beauty is no use to anyone – though, come to think of it, we do have a Prince living in the area!

Horatio Nelson

*copies of ‘What country friends is this? are available via Amazon and the Post Datum Office, Llandovery