Cardiff youngsters compete for Wales National Theatre visit

A group of young people from Cardiff have taken the lead in a creative arts competition set up by the National Theatre Wales.

The youths, from Adamsdown and Splott, hold a narrow lead in the South Wales based Assembly competition which would see the theatre company visit the community and put on a performance based on the proposals put forward by the winners.

The public vote for the competition, which also involves bids from Barry and Bryncynon and Abercynon, closes at the end of the week.

The Cardiff youths are hoping to work with the National Theatre to produce a project exploring anti-social behaviour and community tensions in Anderson Fields park in Adamsdown. They have asked the company to put on a performance in the park itself in the hope it will raise awareness about the relationship between young people and their community.

The bid was made after a group of young musicians approached local youth workers Spencer Huggins and Natalie Stockwell about the competition. They had become concerned about crime and anti-social behaviour in Anderson Fields and wanted to bring a positive change to the park.

Mr Huggins, who submitted the bid, said: “The idea of the project is to promote young people’s interests as stock holders within the community.”

“The youths wanted to make a difference to the area and show themselves in a positive light. There were concerns from young people who felt as if they were being blamed for some of the problems when they are not responsible.”

“The project is just a fantastic opportunity. To have National Theatre Wales come and do a performance in a park in our community would bring a lot of attention to the area. The support we have had from different community groups is great.”

Mr Huggins said he hoped the project will inspire similar campaigns in other parts of Cardiff and across the country.

Adamsdown councillor Nigel Howells has offered his backing to the project and said he was looking to do something with the ideas put forward, regardless of the result of the competition.

“It would be great if they could do this by winning the support of local residents and those not just in Cardiff but throughout the area,” he said.

“Young people in general have a very bad reputation around here and in a lot of cases they don’t deserve that reputation.This project can make people more appreciative of them and that’s just good for the community as a whole.”

Voting closes on February 12.