Attic Theatre is a little gem of a space. With 84 seats it’s an intimate theatre, entirely run by its volunteer members. It sits upstairs in Cawdor Hall in the middle of Newcastle Emlyn. We present three main stage productions a year, a Film Festival in the Autumn, and National Theatre Live film screenings.  There are also other one-off events, and film screenings for young people in collaboration with Cadernid.

Our members provide all the actors, directors, stage crew, costume makers, technical, stage managers, set builders, publicity, etc.

Members come from all walks of life. We welcome all new members interested in working backstage, with lighting & sound, costume, set design, acting and everything in between!  You can contact us by email at info@attictheatre.wales, and we’re usually in the theatre rehearsing on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

The history of the Company goes way back to 1932. Initially one play per year was presented, and also toured the local district. Attic 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.

At that time many of the young people working in Newcastle Emlyn came from outlying villages and lodged in the town 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 company’s name was changed to ‘The Attic Players’.

Meetings and rehearsals 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 they 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 (formerly a billiards hall) and a small kitchen backstage, and 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 enabled us to have full use of the space they’d been using.  Renamed ‘The Studio’ this space gives us much greater flexibility, allowing us to run workshops, to have a good sized dressing room, and to stretch out during the rehearsal of large cast productions.