The Sherman Theatre ( cy, Theatr y Sherman) is a venue in the

Cathays Cathays ( ; Welsh: officially ''Cathays'' but also , 'the constant meadow') is a district and community in the centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is an old suburb of Cardiff established in 1875. It is very densely populated and contains ma ...

district of

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. It was built as a twin-auditorium venue in 1973 with financial support from

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

. Sherman Cymru was the name of the Sherman Theatre between 2007 and 2016 when the name changed back to Sherman Theatre. The theatre is named after Harry Sherman, the co-founder of Sherman's Football Pools, who financed its construction. Within the premises are two performance spaces: the main auditorium with 452 seats, and the studio / arena which seats 100. The Sherman Theatre Company and Sgript Cymru merged in April 2007 to form a new company, called Sherman Cymru, based at the Sherman Theatre. Between 1990 and 2006 the Artistic Director of the Sherman was Phil Clark. Between 1993 and 97 a number of plays were filmed for television by HTV under the series title ''The Sherman Plays''. The current Artistic Director of the theatre is Joe Murphy. The Sherman won the UK Theatre Award for "Best New Play 2015", for Gary Owen's ''Iphigenia in Splott''. Sophie Melville's performance in this production received ''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

Award for Acting Excellence'' at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

in 2015. The production transferred to the UK National Theatre's Temporary Theatre in January 2015, making this the first Welsh play to transfer straight to the National Theatre.

Iphigenia in Splott In Greek mythology, Iphigenia (; grc, Ἰφιγένεια, , ) was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae. In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting ...

then went on to win the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Drama in 2016. Gary Owen and

Rachel O'Riordan Rachel O'Riordan (born 1974) is an Irish theatre director. She is currently the artistic director at the Lyric Hammersmith, London. Early life and education Born in Cork, Ireland to poet and novelist Robert Anthony Welch and Angela O'Riordan ...

’s next collaboration,

Killology David Allen Grossman (born August 23, 1956) is an American author and trainer who conducts seminars on the psychology of lethal force. He is a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Army. Early life and military career Grossman was bor ...

, won the award for Outstanding Achievement at an Affiliate Theatre at the

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

s in 2018. The Sherman won the

Edinburgh Fringe First The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

award and a Herald Angel Award in 2008 for their touring play

Deep Cut ''Deep Cut'' is a play to date performed by Cardiff theatre company Sherman Cymru and written by Philip Ralph. It premiered at the Edinburgh Festival in 2008 and won the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award in the same year as well ...

, which dramatised the real-life deaths of four trainees at Deepcut Army Barracks. The theatre was originally designed by Alex Gordon and Partners in the same dark brown brick as the

Cardiff University Students' Union Cardiff Students' Union (CSU, Welsh:''Undeb Myfyrwyr Caerdydd'') is the Students' Union for Cardiff University and is located in Cardiff, Wales. Cardiff Students' Union supports over 200 student societies and 60 sports clubs with more than ...

building next door, and was completed in 1973. It was modernised and refurbished in 2010–12 by Jonathan Adams, internally reorganised and with a distinctive new metal-clad facade. Sherman Theatre won Regional Theatre of the Year Award at The Stage Awards 2018.

References

External links

* Cathays Theatres in Cardiff {{UK-theat-stub

References

Further reading

External links