What’s Next for The Other Room?

Right in the urban heart of Wales, The Other Room is Cardiff’s first and only dedicated pub theatre. Established in 2014, The Other Room has become a fixture of the Welsh theatre ecology. It is a small space where visionary artists have the freedom to take big risks; where distinctive and challenging theatre like nothing else in the Welsh capital is presented; and, where new Welsh plays go toe-to-toe with the most revered modern drama. We are an intimate theatre of 47 seats (for now) that brings audiences back to the live experience with an intensity no other venue in Wales offers. It is an inclusive theatre where Wales' identity as a bilingual nation is cherished and is evolving.

The Other Room means to disrupt the status-quo of Welsh theatre. Beyond being a dissenting voice, we will work constructively with the powers that be to enact change. This way, we can disseminate learning from the ground-up instead of waiting for best-practice to trickle down from the top. We are troops on the ground. We embody the tenacious artists working at the cutting edge of social change.

The Other Room was a permanent fixture at Porter’s Bar, Cardiff until 2023 when the bars lease came to an end. Now we are seeking a new home, but while we are out in the big wide world, we will be taking our work on the road. While bricks and mortar is what need in the long term, in the short term, we will continue to create the work for our community and audiences.

What we are looking to continue our tradition of presenting extraordinary theatre in a space where theatre ought not to exist. Creating worlds, experiences and telling the stories of the outliers, the forgotten or the unthinkable. If you have any ideas, or suggestions, please feel free to write using the details below.

If we are to begin again, we don’t want it to be more of the same. The next version of The Other Room will offer more opportunities for people to participate, have a stronger focus on challenging access barriers, make space for genuinely new stories, and reduce our impact on the climate crisis – because a good night out shouldn’t harm the planet.

So, what can you do to help?

If you can, consider giving to The Other Room, to help us make this vision a reality.

  • Our VISION is to be the natural home for marginalised voices and others on the fringes, providing a pathway for visionary artists to grow and enact change.

  • Our MISSION is to be Wales’s pub theatre and the smallest, most intimate theatre in the Welsh capital.

    We celebrate difference and disrupt the status quo through creating ambitious theatre and holding the space for alternative stories.

  • MINDFULNESS
    We aim to be aware of larger systemic realities and privilege so that we can help affect and drive change with our work. We want our decisions and choices to be nuanced, responsive and mindful.

    RESILIENCE
    The Other Room only exists because of tenacity, grit, and ambition. But we do so for our audiences, our artists, and the communities we serve.

    OPENNESS
    We strive to acknowledge and prioritise the well-being, safety, personal boundaries, identities, and access needs of everybody that connects with The Other Room.

    TRANSPARENCY
    We seek to be transparent with our audiences and communities - always willing to have authentic dialogue, even when it is challenging and provocative.

    GENEROSITY
    We do not have much, but what we have, we will try to share – our spirit, our space, our time, our resources, our platforms, and opportunities.

Business Plan 2023 - 2027

This new direction for The Other Room is guided by our renewed Vision, Mission and Values; these are the cornerstones to our Business Plan 2023- 2027. This strategy and vision for the future has been created by The Other Room Team and Board of Trustees in response to our Audience Survey (2021) and through conversation with our community of artists and audiences.

So, in the the spirit of transparency, on this page you can view our Vision, Mission and Values and download a full copy of the Business Plan 2023- 2027. We would love to hear your thoughts.

Download The Other Room’s full Business Plan 2023 - 2027 (PDF).

What would you like to see for the future of The Other Room?

HAVE YOUR SAY

Do you have any thoughts, feedback or suggestion on the vision of The Other Room. If you do, email your thoughts to future@otherroomtheatre.com, or submit your suggestions via the form.