The Riverfront ( cy, Glan yr Afon) is the principal and newest

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and arts centre in the

City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

of Newport. It is located on the west bank of the River Usk on the Bristol Packet Wharf in the city centre. Designed by architectural firm Austin-Smith:Lord, the centre was opened on 23 October 2004.

Background

Plans were discussed for a theatre as early as 1995 but was delayed due to the reorganisation of local authority finances. Plans were ultimately made for the new arts centre at the same time as Newport made its bid for city status in 2002, at an estimated cost of £15 million. The centre was supported by Arts Council of Wales funding and National Assembly for Wales grant funding. Construction began in May 2002, and took two years, partly delayed by the discovery of a medieval ship estimated to be 500 years old. The Riverfront finally opened on 23 October 2004 with a concert by Katharine Jenkins and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The building's design was described as a celebration of

deconstructivism Deconstructivism is a movement of postmodern architecture which appeared in the 1980s. It gives the impression of the fragmentation of the constructed building, commonly characterised by an absence of obvious harmony, continuity, or symmetry. ...

in the style of Zaha Hadid, whose Cardiff Opera House design had recently been rejected nearby. The design proved polarising, winning the Welsh Building of the Year award two years in a row in 2005 and 2006, but also drawing scepticism from some local residents. In March 2004 the Riverfront came second in a public vote to find Wales' most ugly building. On its 10th birthday in 2014 it was estimated that the centre was welcoming 90,000 visitors, twice the estimate made at the point of construction. At that point it was estimated to host 180 performances, 550 workshops and 110 film screenings each year. In 2020 the theatre received Arts Council of Wales and National Lottery stabilisation funding to manage during the COVID-19 outbreak and upgrade its ticketing systems.

Facilities

The venue opened with a 482-capacity

which went on to present a mix of

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

, dance,

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

and

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

. The Studio, seating 128, with a more challenging performance and film programme. The three workshop spaces host a range of art classes and workshops including

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

and

life drawing A figure drawing is a drawing of the human form in any of its various shapes and postures using any of the drawing media. The term can also refer to the act of producing such a drawing. The degree of representation may range from highly detailed, ...

. The Dance Studio hosts a variety of dance and theatre classes and workshops including salsa,

breakdancing Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in t ...

circus skills Circus skills are a group of disciplines that have been performed as entertainment in circus, sideshow, busking, or variety, vaudeville, or music hall shows. Most circus skills are still being performed today. Many are also practiced by non-per ...

and youth theatre. The Recording Studio is hired externally and used for rock & pop and DJing workshops. The centre has hosted visiting events from time to time, including BBC One's Question Time, filming for production of Dr. Who, and outside broadcasts of BBC Radio shows. Every year since opening, The Riverfront has also put on traditional pantomimes over Christmas and New Year.

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...

semi-finalist Mark James performed throughout the Christmas period as Jack Trott in Jack and the Beanstalk 2007 and Aladdin 2010. In the 2010s it became the host of the annual Big Splash festival, attracting 20,000 visitors.

Art Gallery

The small art gallery plays host to a collection of local artists and other free exhibitions including

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

. The Basement Gallery is now being used for exhibitions and in 2008 hosted the Ghosts in Armour exhibition.

Food & beverages

The Riverfront has a café and bar overlooking the river on the ground floor of the building. There is also an outdoor terrace that spills onto the banks of the River Usk.

The Newport Ship

The centre has been proposed as the home to the Newport Ship, a 15th-century vessel found immersed in the mud banks of the River Usk, although it has been suggested that the basement space may be too small to view the ship in its entirety. The remains of the ship were discovered whilst excavating for the orchestra pit for the Theatre. Around 25 metres long and dating from 1465 the find's importance has been equated to that of the

Mary Rose The ''Mary Rose'' (launched 1511) is a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. She served for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. After being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her ...

. During its six-month excavation, a vast new exhibition space was designed and built in self-compacting waterproof concrete beneath the foyer to house and display the discoveries, presenting the ship's unearthing, its history and eventually the fully conserved ship itself. The design could not however compromise the existing facilities. It had to be an integral part of the building and had to be constructed around the piles already in the ground. The ship is currently in storage elsewhere and a decision is yet to be made regarding permanent public display.

Gallery

File:Riverfront cafe, from above.jpg, Café seating from above File:The Riverfront Arts Centre - geograph.org.uk - 777969.jpg, Centre entrance File:Riverfront.JPG, Viewed from the east

References

External links

Official site of The Riverfront Theatre & Arts Centre
{{Authority control Newport, Wales Culture in Newport, Wales Performing arts centres in Wales Theatres in Newport, Wales Music venues in Newport, Wales Tourist attractions in Newport, Wales Arts centres in Wales Landmarks in Newport, Wales 2004 establishments in Wales