Theatr Iolo

Who we are

Theatr Iolo’s vision is to have a society in which all children can feel empowered and inspired. We do this by enriching the lives of children through memorable experiences that challenge the mind and stir the imagination.

Theatr Iolo has been at the forefront of creating theatre for children in Wales for almost forty years. We are passionate about nurturing and igniting the imagination and creativity of young minds, to help children make sense of the world around them and to find their place within it.

We work with the best artists, writers and creatives, to create memorable and bold live theatre, workshops and activities in both English and Welsh. Our work for babies, children and teenagers is toured across Wales, the UK and internationally.

Our culture and values

Theatr Iolo’s values are;

• Accessible: We want children aged 0-16 and their adults to trust their experience of a Theatr Iolo production will be of the highest quality and that they will feel included.

• Authentic: We want to create work that is relevant to children from all backgrounds, by striving to understand their life experiences and the current challenges that they face.

• Bold: We want our young audiences to feel challenged and we want to help them to explore, open up and learn about themselves and the world in which they live.

• Collaborative: We want to collaborate with partners to help us reach as many young people as possible, particularly those that have not had access to live theatre before, by removing as many barriers to attendance as possible.

• Creative: We want to ignite creativity and imagination in all the children that we reach in both Welsh and English, by offering stimulating opportunities that challenge expectations.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Theatr Iolo's approach to Equality and Diversity aims to demonstrate Theatr Iolo’s continuing commitment to integrate equality of opportunity as a guiding principle underpinning the organisation’s work. We are committed to making our organisation representative of the society we live in, provide opportunities for all to shape the programme and make them feel like they can belong to the company as an associate, artist, practitioner, performer, or an audience member.

We believe theatre is a positive and effective way to connect to children and young people. Theatre and the dramatic arts can provide a safe and nurturing environment to help young people open up, explore and learn about themselves and the world in which they live.

Every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts. Member governments shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity. - Article 31, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

As Article 31 in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states above, Theatr Iolo believes that all children should have access to stimulating, surprising and meaningful theatre experiences. Theatre is a unique art form, it is a dialogue that can only happen in the moment - we question, share and begin to understand ourselves and our place in the world. Theatr Iolo makes work that is a celebration and exploration of what it is to be human, and we fiercely believe that young people should have access and be part of this dialogue.

Access services and cultural diversity are considered at the outset of all productions and projects and we relish the opportunities that this brings. Our full Equality and Diversity Policy and Action Plan can be downloaded from the website www.theatriolo.com