I first discovered Undeb Theatre Co. at the Cardiff Identity Festival where I was also performing…read morelast month. They are a young and feisty writing and performing theatre company who have taken up residence in Cardiff Arts Institute, the heart of the city's cultural revolution. Founded in 2009 by Artistic Directors, Tom Cullen and Alexander Vlahos with the aim of bringing exciting, quality work to new audiences at non-theatre venues. In their own words: 'Undeb started because we we're frustrated at the lack of theatre that spoke to us; it was expensive, irrelevant & boring. Theatre that our mates didn't want to see; pretentious and intimidating. For us it's all about the event, a night out where you can relax, drink, dance, chat and watch some excellent theatre.' As such Undeb work with new writers, directors and actors. They workshop full length plays and offer first time writers a chance to develop their work. So far the results I've seen have been impressive and engaging from the CAI event, to the Balloon madness that was Harder, Better, Faster, Rhondda at Clwb Ifor Bach. Their latest theatre experience is selling out fast.

Fresh from Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Undeb Theatre have already made a brilliant name…read morefor themselves on the Cardiff arts scene. Made up of the incredibly friendly Tom Cullen and Alex Vlahos, the company pull in a spectrum of Wales' finest writers and performers and make theatre which is exciting, relevant and moving. It is also, perhaps most importantly, absolute barrels of fun. Frustrated with what Cardiff had to offer and keen to make works that their mates would actually want to go and see, the two Artistic Directors decided to use their college contacts to make performances to change the face of Welsh theatre. They certainly have the vision and, fortunately for us all, have proved themselves full of the imagination and energy necessary to make truly genre defying pieces. Now they have been welcomed as resident theatre company at Cardiff Arts Institute, Cullen and Vlahos have seized the opportunity to blur the boundaries between theatre and a casual night out. As a result of their aims and their talent, their work tends to be charmingly interactive and seriously cutting-edge. URBAN CHALLENGE: Join Undeb's mailing list. Yes, now.

The Tobacco Factory Theatre is an independent business to the Tobacco Factory Café Bar, but they…read moreshare access to the beer garden and each other, and of course, are located in the same building. The owner, the visionary and philanthropist, George Ferguson, leases the space to the theatre, who also offer acting classes as well as an impressive and innovative theatre programme. There's something special about theatre in the round. Before moving to Bristol and discovering this little treasure, I'd only seen one performance in the round before. It was an Oscar Wilde performance at The Corn Exchange in Manchester on St Anne's Square. A lot of Wilde's work is situational and so lends itself to this kind of treatment. Inevitably, I was a convert. Since arriving in Bristol I've seen a number of productions at The Tobacco Factory. All of them have been consummate, but occasionally a little over-ambitious. There are many restraints to a theatre in the round production, and as these theatres are rare, directors generally have little to no experience of it before they come to stage something here.

If you fancy going to watch a play, comedy, or a bit of Shakespeare then this is the venue for you…read more It's small but intimate and the quality of the shows are always of a high standard. Downstairs they have a bar that serves great food, and drinks, there is a small al fresco outside area and regular Sunday Markets and live music. The Tobacco Factory is independantly owned and is part of a growing campaign to encourage and support independant business in the Bristol area, so go along and support the cause. It's a 'one stop shop' for the perfect night out and one in which you will not be disappointed.

Now has a great deli, so many more activities and a monthly night market, love it!read more

"If you want small-scale perfection, try Hijinx Theatre. Their shows are with almost uncanny…read morereliability little masterpieces, miniatures where every aspect of the product is finely crafted." David Adams ~ The Guardian. Set up in 1981 by Gaynor Lougher and Richard Berry, this Theatre Company's mission statement is 'to create high quality theatre which is accessible, entertaining and challenging for small communities throughout Wales and England.' In the spring and early summer they create a play for adults with learning disabilities and their community. They've developed a good working relationship with Mencap Cymru who provide excellent advice about topical issues in the learning disabled community. A Background Information Pack is produced for each production with copies left with carers to enable follow up work on the themes of the play. Each autumn Hijinx tour a new production for the general public in community venues for 11 weeks. Over the years they've also developed a strong commitment to new writing, commissioning plays from many of Wales' leading playwrights. Hijinx have developed a strong fusion of music, movement and visual imagery in all our work. They're great!

National Theatre Wales are a fantastic new company based in Cardiff breathing exciting new life…read moreinto the previously often boring performance programme of the region. Their work is bold and engaging, involves collaborations with the best know (Marc Rees, DJ Britton) and unknown creatives and often takes place in unusual yet engaging places from Swansea's Old Library (Shelf Life) to the seaside (The Beach). The invigorating programme is performed in English, productions and locations changing monthly. Of the shows I've seen so far this year including Shelf Life and The Devil Inside Him the work has been of a strong standard and the aesthetics and production have been of an international standard. A fantastic thing. I'm getting excited about Gary Owen's Love Steals Us From Loneliness (Bridgend, October) and David Harradine's The Weather Factory (Snowdonia, December). Get talking about it, get going, get involved: http://community.nationaltheatrewales.org/

What a great space. As we wandered to a restaurant for dinner (that ultimately turned out to be…read moreclosed), we noticed this hall all lit up with purple lights which of course pulled us inside. There was a live band playing in the foyer...all Prince covers. The band was great, the acoustics were good and the crowd was grooving. Turns out we had walked into a Prince tribute. People were dressed in their best 80s/purple/Princewear and it was great. We listened for a few songs but then headed off so we didn't get to see Purple Rain or the inside of the theater. I'm sure it was great.

Just completed this is a building in its own right, although most people would only come here…read morebecause they're watching something a the Colston Hall. It's hard to miss, finished with Gold coloured cladding. It looks a bit like someone put a gigantic gold ingot onto the skyline of Bristol. Inside is all black metal and ikea-ish coffee tables. There's a rather smart bar on the ground floor, which is fairly expensive (more than three quid for a pint) but not too bad. They sometimes have events here (I recently came to see my friend playing the guitar). The sort of thing you get is usually quite small, community based events, to give you an idea of what to expect. It's a brilliant space for some light theatre - a few sketches or something like that . The big windows mean that it doesn't' get too dark though. It's not a proper venue, that's the Colston Hall itself. Recently finished and still feeling new Colston Hall Foyer is pretty sleek, and only feels a little like its trying a bit to hard with the gold cladding.

Great place with excellent facilities for musical theatre, auctions, functions, films and…read moreeverything else. Trying hard to provide an interesting and useable service in a tired valley town the facility is modern and impressive. They could perhaps do with better advertising of their performances as I always seem to hear of things after they have occurred which is frustrating and I cannot see them detailed on the internet anywhere. Centrally located within walking distance of a bus stop, 5 miles from the train station and lots of free parking nearby. Pubs and Takeaways in the local area with one or two of the pubs doing a decent meal - could do with tying up a deal with one of them for an after theatre menu.

The Met is a great place. Check out the web site http://www.the-met.co.uk for up to date listings…read moreof events, performances and activities

Everyman are an ammeter dramatic theatre group who put on some fantastic open air plays in the…read moregrounds of the Folk Museum every summer. They generally put on three or four shows, always one aimed at young children such as Wind and the Willows, and of course one by the bard himself Shakespeare. A performance of A Midsummer Nights Dream in recent years was particularly memorable, the outdoor setting being absolutely perfect for the forest scenes. Of course there is a downside to staging the plays outdoors, whilst on a warm summers evening the experience is fantastic, on a rainy day the open air stage is disastrous, with both the performers and audiences spirit (and person) being rather dampened, though thankfully the audience are under cover, for the most part.

Everyman Theatre Group is, to put it simply, the biggest amateur dramatics society in Cardiff…read more Being responsible for the famous summer Shakespeare show at St. Fagin's each year, and the nearly all the local output from Chapter Arts Centre's theatrical arm, the company is a constant source of entertainment and intellectual stimulation for the city. Their output routinely consists of avant-garde pieces, both classical and updated Shakespeare plays, musicals and comedies, ensuring that the company always contains players of consummate skill, and ensuring the company rarely repeats itself. At intermittent Wednesdays, Chapter hosts the interesting "Everyman Club Night" where company members, potential patrons and everyday members of the public are able to sit in on a small performance of a pending piece and witness the director's burgeoning ideas before they come to fruition. It's an interesting experience, being packed into a room that fits maybe thirty people at a stretch, watching actors literally three feet away from you, and provides a wonderful sense of involvement to see the director's vision come to the stage several months later. There is, however, a vein of elitism within the company; a degree of snobbishness that can sometimes rear up. Luckily, this is usually quelled before it can cause any real harm to the company's image.