RAISED in a single-parent household in Pembrokeshire, Yasemin Özdemir relied on grants, scholarships and bursaries to pursue her ambition to act. This winter, that determination comes full circle as she takes to the stage alongside Michael Sheen in the inaugural production of the Welsh National Theatre.

From local youth theatre to professional training at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Özdemir has steadily built a career defined by drive and resilience. Now, she joins a landmark project that will see Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic Our Town presented with a fully Welsh cast and creative team for the first time in the play’s eighty-seven-year history.

Özdemir first encountered Our Town in 2016 while preparing for drama school auditions and says she “fell in love with it instantly”. That same year, she played Juliet in the National Youth Theatre of Wales’ Romeo and Juliet. Nearly a decade on, she is part of the newly launched Welsh National Theatre’s debut production, co-produced with the Rose Theatre.

The production is directed by Swansea-born Francesca Goodridge, with Michael Sheen appearing as the Stage Manager and Russell T Davies serving as Creative Associate. It will tour venues across Wales before transferring to London.

A graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 2020, Özdemir has already made her mark on stage and screen. Her theatre credits include Angel—which earned her a Best Lead Performance nomination at the 2022 OFFIES—alongside You Bury Me and Dance to the Bone. Television and film appearances include A Spy Among Friends (ITV), Vandullz (BBC) and the short film Yummy Mummy. Known for a dynamic physical presence and emotionally grounded performances, she brings energy and authenticity to the company’s opening production.

Speaking about her casting, Yasemin said: “Being part of Michael Sheen’s Welsh National Theatre feels like a full-circle moment for me. I know how passionate he is about discovering talent from all backgrounds, including those of us who’ve had to fight to access opportunities in the arts. I’m thrilled to bring this timeless story to life with such an incredible team.”

Director Francesca Goodridge added: “Bringing Our Town to life with a fully Welsh cast and creative team is a gift. The journeys through life, love and death that the play celebrates sit perfectly within a close-knit community. The Welsh word hiraeth—that deep longing for a place, person or time you can’t return to—is at the heart of this production.”

Michael Sheen said the tour would place Welsh voices firmly on the national stage:
“This is an incredible opportunity to present a Welsh interpretation of a classic that tours our nation and takes our voice to London, giving Welsh talent a platform to perform.”

Russell T Davies described the company’s launch as timely: “In this strange and maddening world, the emergence of a Welsh cultural force is exactly what we need. Our Town fits an intimate Welsh setting instantly and perfectly.”

The production will play Swansea Grand Theatre from Friday 16 January to Saturday 31 January 2026, followed by Venue Cymru (Tuesday 3 February–Saturday 7 February) and Theatr Clwyd (Wednesday 11 February–Saturday 21 February), before transferring to the Rose Theatre in Kingston-upon-Thames from Thursday 26 February to Saturday 28 March. Tickets are on sale now.

THIS February half term, the Torch Theatre is inviting young science fans to step into a world of fizz, bang and discovery with a brand-new, action-packed live performance.

The Exciting Science Show promises to amaze and astound children aged four and over, putting the “exciting” firmly back into “science”. Packed with fast-paced demonstrations and fact-filled fun, the show brings learning to life with spectacular experiments performed live on stage.

Audiences can expect everything from a dramatic volcanic eruption to everyday objects transformed into surprising scientific contraptions — including a vacuum cleaner turned missile launcher and a smoke blaster aimed straight at the crowd. With plenty of “wiz, bang, pop… and splurt”, this is a show where standing clear is strongly advised.

Led by a larger-than-life team — Mad Mike, Dangerous Dean, Krazy Kelly and Fabulous Faye — the performance blends theatre and science to spark curiosity and keep young minds fully engaged.

Explaining the characters, Mad Mike said: “I’m the inventor of the group — give me a roll of gaffer tape and a set of pliers and I can turn anything into a science experiment. Dangerous Dean is our crash-test dummy — if there’s something we’re unsure about, Dean tries it first. Kindly Kelly might look friendly, but she’s our master of destruction, and Fabulous Faye knows her facts, knows her science… she’s just fabulous.”

Anwen Francis from the Torch Theatre marketing team added: “We’re delighted to be welcoming this fun-filled science show to the Torch this half term. So many young people enjoy science, especially when they can see real experiments unfolding live on stage. We can’t wait to see what amazing and exciting moments emerge.”

Exciting Science comes to the Torch Theatre on Wednesday, February 18, with performances at 11.30am and 2:00pm. Tickets cost £15.50.

For more information or to book, visit www.torchtheatre.co.uk or contact the Box Office on (01646) 695267.

A new exhibition by David and Cassia GomersallSaturday 17 January – Saturday 14 February 2026

THE WATERFRONT GALLERY at Discovery Quay opens the New Year with The Space Between, a compelling joint exhibition by father-and-daughter artists David and Cassia Gomersall.

The exhibition launches on Saturday 17 January, with a public preview from 2:00pm–4:00pm. It will then run Wednesday to Saturday, 10:30am–4:00pm, until Saturday 14 February.

Since 2005, David Gomersall’s artistic practice has been shaped by the bays and headlands of the Marloes peninsula, including Marloes Sands, Albion, Musselwick and St Brides. His work begins with rapid sketches responding to the visual drama of water colliding with rock. Away from the shoreline, these impressions evolve into abstract explorations in wood, stone, paint and dye—works that carry the memory of water moving around, over and through solid form. Though developed intuitively, each piece retains a strong echo of its coastal origin and a sense of the familiar.

The relentless motion of the sea—eroding softer material, opening fissures and caverns, and reshaping shattered stone—is mirrored in David’s processes. The carving and sanding of wood and stone, the rhythm of pencil marks, and the flow of batik wax all echo the sea’s constant, shaping force.

David studied three-dimensional design before completing an MA in Environmental and Architectural Design at the Royal College of Art. After working for architectural practices in London, he established his own studio in 1991. Since 1995, his projects have focused mainly in Pembrokeshire and Shropshire/Powys. His architectural work—and the many concept paintings produced over three decades for the late Zaha Hadid—centres on spatial relationships, movement and flow.

Cassia Gomersall is predominantly a textile-based artist, known for upcycled clothing and artworks created through fabric manipulation, silk-screen printing and natural dyeing. Her practice frequently incorporates recycled, scavenged or foraged materials. Rusted objects found along Pembrokeshire’s coastline are used to produce richly textured, rust-dyed pieces that echo sea spray and saltwater corrosion. Her ink works are largely abstract, capturing moments where sea meets cliff and water meets mountain.

Together, David and Cassia Gomersall present a thoughtful, tactile dialogue between nature and material—exploring erosion, movement and transformation in works shaped as much by place as by process.