Theatr Clwyd
SITUATED on a hill above Mold in Flintshire, Theatr Clwyd is Wales’s largest producing theatre and a beloved cultural hub that has just emerged from a landmark redevelopment, transforming both its public welcome and backstage muscle while keeping the building’s soul intact.
The £50m project by architects Haworth Tompkins refreshed the theatres, reconfigured foyers, improved accessibility, upgraded technical infrastructure, and added airy rehearsal and community spaces with a strong sustainability brief, much of it funded through a blend of public and record-breaking philanthropic support.
As part of the overhaul, the main house was renamed Theatr Moondance in recognition of a major gift from the Moondance Foundation and reopened first on June 2, 2025, with the studio — now the Weston Theatre following support from the Garfield Weston Foundation — opening later that summer; both retain the much-loved spatial character of the former Anthony Hopkins and Emlyn Williams theatres but with modern comfort, sightlines and technical flexibility.
Theatr Clwyd’s team kept performances alive during construction with inventive temporary spaces — the weather-beaten Big Top and the adaptable Theatr Mix — before moving back home in phases, a testament to the organisation’s producing grit and its close relationship with local audiences.
Today, the venue’s offer spans the Moondance main stage and the Weston studio alongside an on-site cinema, galleries and multipurpose rooms, and it also programmes at partner spaces such as William Aston Hall, extending its reach across north-east Wales.
The result is a refreshed, future-facing Theatr Clwyd — still the lively hilltop theatre that championed new work and big names for decades, now equipped to welcome bigger stories and broader communities under one roof.