A Sunny Disposition The Other Room, Porter's Bar Wednesday 11th May 2016 So far at theSprout, we have reviewed all shows at The Other Room. To my dismay, it appears no one got round to reviewing St Nicholas. In keeping with our

One evening last summer, a young person (let?s call him R-J) called at our house, in search of my brother. It was obvious that he was drunk and very emotional. My brother was out at the time, but his mother and mine are the best of friends, so

Who knew? Green Day?s frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong loves musicals. He even has a tattoo of Jesus Christ Superstar?s logo on his right arm. As you may have guessed, yes, this is a musical based on Green Day?s seminal American Idiot album, which was released in 2004 with hits like Wake Me Up When September Ends, Holiday, and modern rock sing-along (or sing-alone) anthem Boulevard of Broken Dreams. But, no, this show is not about Green Day. It is not, as some might assume, a story about their elevation to rock fame, or anything like that. It is about three young men?s despair and journey for meaning in a post-9/11 America. It is deep and meaningful.

Yesterday at the St David�s Hall here in Cardiff, gay comedian Julian Clary brought his �The Joy Of Mincing� UK tour to celebrate 30 years working in comedy. The show was basically a one man show with Julian Clary himself where he tells

An Inspector Calls New Theatre, Cardiff Tuesday 12th April 2016 *classic spoilers follow* For those studying it in school, An Inspector Calls should (like it did for me) fill a young reader with fascination?and a ravenous

No helpline for young people should run without the direct input of young people. That’s why Meic – the national helpline for 0-25’s in Wales (yes, from zero!) – is asking young people how they’d like to get involved to improve Meic. They've made a one-minute survey to help the thousands of young people every year in Wales who rely upon them for information, advice and what’s called advocacy (more on that below*). If Meic is new to you, it's no bother, you can still contribute. From meeting the Government about Meic, to becoming a helpline trainee; from evaluating what they do, to helping pick their staff; from attending events like Freshers’ Fayres, to using your social media wizardry / #madskills; they want to know – without you having to commit to anything - how young people might be interested in getting involved in their work.

Mack and Mabel Wales Millenium Centre Tuesday 1st December 2015 The story of early cinema is normally a sad one. How "talkies" and then colour films blew away their predecessors in the ever-evolving medium caused many creatives to pack up and go home. Rudolph Valentino is a great example of this, a silent movie star so successful until the arrival of sound. His voice just wasn't up to scratch with his smouldering persona, leading to the end of his career. But, there were some who didn't give up. After all, silent film is eternal... Mack Senett is the Oscar-winning cinematic king of silent slapstick. With his motley crew, they created the films that would have caused many a belly laugh in their day. It all changes when Mabel Normand arrives on set brandishing a snack for a hungry actress, and they never look back. It doesn't take too long for her to be convinced to be part of the act and she soon develops a celebrity status. Through bickering about cues and aesthetic differences with Mack, she eventually leaves to pursue her career elsewhere. Upsetting themes creep in about heartbreak, drugs and alcohol, as Mabel begins to fall into the regular sins that stars are often known for, eventually leading to tragic consequences.

Mae'n Nadooooooooooolig! ...Ac am sawl berson ifanc, dydy hynny ddim yn teimlo fel rhywbeth i ddathlu. Ond mae hyd yn oed Siôn Corn angen help weithiau! Os oes rhywbeth ar dy feddwl dros Nadolig, cysylltwch gyda Meic. Mae Meic ar

It's Christmaaaaaaaaas! ...And for lots of young people, that doesn't necessarily feel like a good thing. But even Santa gets stuck sometimes! If you�ve got something on your mind that you need to share over Christmas, why

Drinking too much alcohol can cause illness and stop you from living a healthy life. In 2013, there were 467 alcohol-related deaths in Wales and alcohol misuse is estimated to cost the NHS in Wales around £109m a year in hospital admissions. The Welsh Government is taking lots of action to help people both understand and deal with the problems of alcohol misuse. One thing they could do is control the price of alcohol so that it's more expensive to buy.

TheSprout has teamed up with the Cardiff Partnership for a series of interviews with the leaders of Cardiff's main institutions. Last week we interviewed the chairperson for the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Maria Battle.

TheSprout has teamed up with the Cardiff Partnership for a series of interviews with the leaders of Cardiff's main institutions, and this week, we interviewed the Chairperson for the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

TheSprout has teamed up with the Cardiff Partnership for a series of interviews with the leaders of Cardiff's main institutions. Last week we interviewed the chairperson for the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Maria Battle.

Light, Ladd & Emberton: Caitlin Stwido, Chapter Arts Centre Wednesday 5th August 2015 It was hard to resist the charm of a show like this. Already a winner at Wales Theatre Awards for best dance piece and soon to be off on tour to Edinburgh, this is a hot ticket if ever there was one. One reason for its "hot ticketness" is the intimate presentation of its dance work. As an audience of twenty spectators (in a circle of fold-up chairs), we are witness to the testimony of Caitlin Thomas, the long-suffering spouse of great Welsh writer, Dylan Thomas. Both are present for this AA meeting from hell.

Here's the person in charge of policing in Cardiff answering your questions on motorbikes, cannabis, extremism, media coverage... and her favourite band.

StaySafe Cardiff is a project with the aim of reducing anti-social behaviour, safeguarding children and reducing first-time entrants to the criminal justice system. It also assists people and communities to feel safe and reduce damaging alcohol consumption. The team works in the city centre at anti-social behaviour hotspots and are there to reassure the local community. StaySafe Cardiff hopes to reduce the number of young people who are admitted to accident and emergency for alcohol or substance misuse or as victims of assault.

Did you know that Cardiff has a ten-year plan to become the most liveable city in Europe? Cardiff?s What Matters strategy is essentially a giant to-do list for the Cardiff City Council. It encompasses various sectors that work together

I am pretty much on the Paleo diet. I am eating caveman-style. I don?t want to turn this into one of the many blogs I?ve been reading lately but, briefly, I was put on a diet very similar to Paleo for medical reasons, after being

Iphigenia In Splott Sherman Cymru, Cardiff Tuesday 12th May 2015 Still reeling from the great success of NTW's Mother Courage the night before, this show at the Sherman was set to also be a triumph. In Gary Owen's new work, taking Greek myth as its core inspiration, he has scripted a play so razor sharp and sourly gifted (with several invokes for Cardiff residents). It will leave an audience bruised after some 70 minutes of hardcore Splottness. Effie (performed by Sophie Melville), our one characters here, is from the said area of Cardiff. Through much talk of sex, drugs, fights, pregnancy, premature birth and so much more, she is a realistic portrayal of any teenager in Cardiff, who may have slipped through the cracks. We pity her, her root for her, we loathe her, we adore her. Her words on the cutbacks on hospitals at the very end of the show couldn't be more apt as we are now facing five more disgusting and cataclysmic years of Tory power. *Shudders* Melville (who has appeared in Under Milk Wood and Romeo & Juliet) is totally scathing as Effie. A supernova, hell bent on either the heavens or hell, only being redeemed by her beyond harrowing miscarriage. We may bow our heads down to ignore Effie on the street, but here we marvel at Melville's bitingly real portrait of essentially a chav, but one who is blessed with a soul. Like with Mother Courage, my advice is to frequent this show with your presence. Striking, wonderful and quintessentially Cardiff. Rating: 4 stars Iphigenia In Splott is at Sherman Cymru till Thursday 21st May 2015 Want to win a Sprout T-shirt? Fill in theSprout Satisfaction Survey! Info // Things To Do // The Arts // Acting, Drama and Theatre Events // May 2015's Sprout Editorial Group Meeting *Submit your stuff for publication here* Articles // Filter Articles // Reviews Articles // Categories // Stage Photo Credit: Mark Douet

National Theatre Wales Mother Courage and Her Children Merthyr Labour Club, Merthyr Tydfil Venturing up to the valleys on a coach, whose driver knew no speed limit, this was my rekindling with National Theatre Wales (NTW). Last year, I was in their production of Mametz (playing a German solider) and the community spirit is never far from their ethos. Whether it's the town centre of Port Talbot, a wood in Monmouthshire or a labour club in Merthyr, no location is out of bounds for NTW. All the better for it.