History
The Congress Theatre was opened by the Duchess of Kent on the 19th October 1972. It was built as a multipurpose hall and so lacked the facilities of a conventional theatre. Hosting events such as Celebrity lectures, union meetings and local tribunals.
In 1974 the entire building was closed to be revamped and modified to incorporate greater facilities to enable a wider range of entertainment it reopened in 1975 as the Congress Theatre with a 306 auditorium capacity, dressing rooms and theatrical lighting.
In 1992 the Congress Theatre was threatened with closure by the local Council and a group of theatre enthusiasts formed a committee to take over the running of the Theatre.
Thus in April 1993 the Congress Theatre Co. (which is a registered Charity No. 1132687) was formed and that is how it is today.
In 2018 the Theatre underwent a change, with a huge amount of investment to update its facilities, these included, new electric moveable seating, modified/upgrade Bar facilities, much needed air-conditioning, a folding wall to increase room hire capacity and new stage curtains
More recently the Theatre has had the toilets completely renewed and the installation of new front doors to enable customers better access to the many performances on offer.
Over £240k has been invested in the Theatre to do this work and it is with a huge thanks to The Arts Council of Wales, Cwmbran Trust, Barclays Bank, TCBC, and our fundraising volunteers who have helped enable these works to happen
During the Covid pandemic Theatre’s were unable to operate, but not to be deterred we permitted we transformed the Theatre into a recording and broadcast studio, with thanks from Green room Events, enabling artists, dance schools and local performers to produce live content to an online audience through facebook and youtube.
This proved extremely successful with 70 performances being broadcast viewed 34,448 on youtube and over 77,000 views on facebook. With Thanks to the Arts Council of Wales we have now purchased the equipment and can continue to record or stream performances
In 2022 the Congress Theatre Celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a special visit by HRH the Earl of Wessex, who unveiled a plaque and was entertained by a performance from our Youth Theatre.
The Congress Theatre generates most of its revenue from Theatre Hire. It is also supported by grants from Torfaen County Borough Council, Cwmbran Community Council, Cwmbran Shopping, Croesyceiliog & Llanyravon Community Council.
We have a thriving Youth Theatre, which consists of 120 members - children aged between 8 and 19yrs and also has a large waiting list.
These young children learn about all aspects of theatre - singing, dancing and acting and perform two musicals a year at the Theatre to full audiences.