Thursday 31st July 2025 marks a meaningful moment for Spectacle Theatre and the communities of the Upper Rhondda. With support from the Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm Community Fund, we’ve spent the past five months listening, creating, and talking — exploring how masculinity is shaped, experienced, and expressed in 2025.
Now, we’re gathering in the woods to share what we’ve discovered.
Hosted at Welcome to Our Woods, Cwm Saerbren, Rhondda, the event brings together participants, artists, volunteers and supporters for a one-hour sharing session, followed by a creative showcase, informal conversation — and pizza making.
Sharing What We’ve Started
This week’s event isn’t a final performance or polished conclusion. It’s a celebration of process — of what happens when people are given the time and space to ask hard questions together.
Guests will hear from the people who took part — what surprised them, what challenged them, and what they’ll carry forward. The morning also includes a creative showcase featuring performances from our Monday Night Group, who have been central to the development of the project.
And because sharing also happens around food, we’ll be rolling up our sleeves for pizza making and eating, with time to chat informally in the beautiful woodland roundhouse at Cwm Saerbren.
With Gratitude
We want to extend heartfelt thanks to our funders at the Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm Community Fund, whose generous support made this project possible.
We are also incredibly grateful to the team at Welcome to Our Woods, especially Martyn Broughton, for their ongoing support and warm welcome. The beautiful setting at Cwm Saerbren has played a vital role in helping participants feel grounded, safe, and connected.
Special thanks also go to the Woodland Therapy group and the Young Rangers, whose openness and enthusiasm made our sessions in the forest even more meaningful.
What Comes Next
This project has directly informed the development of our next Theatre in Education tour for secondary schools in the Pen y Cymoedd area, launching in 2026. But more importantly, it has helped to start conversations we believe are vital to the health, safety, and inclusivity of our communities.
We’re proud of the trust, courage and creativity shown by every participant — and we look forward to continuing this work in classrooms, community halls, and creative spaces across South Wales in the year to come.
Until then, we’ll be in the woods — listening, laughing, making dough, and keeping the conversation going.