Dylan Jenkins

About Dylan Jenkins

Posts by Dylan Jenkins:

09 03 26

Street Art Opera is coming to Newport – presented by Operasonic

Music Theatre Wales is delighted to bring two Street Art Operas, Rahmat–Mercy–Trugaredd and Out of Time, to Newport this month, presented by Operasonic as part of Newport Live Act Fringe.

The performance will take place on Saturday 22 March at The Place, and is a particularly significant occasion as one of the works, Rahmat–Mercy–Trugaredd, was co-created by Newport artist Sam Hussain – marking the first time the piece has been presented in her hometown.

Street Art Opera reimagines what opera can be. Projected onto a wall and experienced through silent-disco headphones, these 10-minute works combine animation, music and striking street-art visuals to tell powerful contemporary stories in a shared public space.

Presented by Operasonic – a Newport-based community music charity dedicated to creating creative opportunities and celebrating the city through music – this event brings contemporary Welsh opera to the heart of Newport’s performing arts scene.

We are proud that Operasonic is presenting this event in their home city, connecting the work with local audiences and communities.

Home to Newport

Speaking about presenting the work in Newport, Sam Hussain said:

“It’s been such an amazing experience of growth and enlightenment working on this piece and hopefully many will enjoy and benefit from seeing it. It feels emotional to be sharing it with the rest of the community. It feels incredibly meaningful to bring this work to Newport, a city rich in creativity and diverse voices.
I’m excited for the audience to experience the emotion, music and visual storytelling that sits at its heart. I hope it sparks something powerful for women and girls, a reminder that their creativity, stories and cultural heritage are deeply valuable and deserve to be seen, heard and celebrated.”

This performance is free and open to all.

Street Art Opera has previously been presented on the front of Wales Millennium Centre, at Focus Wales, at Grange Pavilion in Cardiff and on tour across Wales. We are delighted to bring the work to Newport in collaboration with Operasonic.

Find out more about the making of Rahmat–Mercy–Trugaredd, featuring Sam Hussain, below:

The Works

Rahmat–Mercy–Trugaredd

Created by Amelia Unity, Eadyth, Sam Hussain and Jamie TC Panton, this visually rich work, inspired by Sufism and hip-hop, follows Sana as she challenges restriction in order to explore her creativity and claim her place in the world.

Out of Time

Created by Claire Victoria Roberts, Giselle Ty and Lauren Orme, with music performed by Sinfonia Cymru, this Focus Wales award-winning work offers a darkly comic vision of a future in which nature rebels against extinction.

Hear Sam Hussain speak about Rahmat–Mercy–Trugaredd at a previous showing in Grangetown:

22 01 26

2025: A Year of Growth, Collaboration and Experimentation

Dylan Jenkins

2025: A Year of Growth, Collaboration and Experimentation

2025 was another busy year of reimagining opera for Music Theatre Wales. As ever, our aim was to question what opera can be, and who gets to create it — exploring bold, creative and imaginative ways of making, experiencing and thinking about opera.

This work took place live, online, in schools and in communities, across Wales and England. As a result, MTW reached over 6,100 people. Below is a snapshot, through the numbers, of the impact we made in 2025.

Our reach in 2025

1,700+ children and young people

Through work with schools, Future Directions and our New Notes composition programme

2,600+ people in person

At performances, presentations, talks and events in theatres and community venues

3,500+ online viewers

Engaging with our digital operas and online content

Creating new work

We created three new productions:

Alongside this, we commissioned 12 new works by music creators in Wales, including five by composers under the age of 18, continuing our commitment to nurturing new talent and future voices.

Touring, partnerships and performance

55 live performances
17 venues across Wales and England
19 collaborative events with partners and collaborators

These partnerships brought communities, artists and audiences together — creating space to share ideas, challenge traditional forms and imagine what opera can be today.

Recognition and organisational development

In 2025, we:

Won the award for Best Performance Film at Focus Wales
Were shortlisted for a major European award at the Fedora Biennale
Delivered our first sustainable production in line with the Theatre Green Book

We also strengthened our governance by appointing:

Three new trustees, including two Young Trustees and one Trustee in Training

In addition, we appointed a new Community Producer, Abena-Mintaah Mensah, to develop and champion our work in Grangetown and Butetown, deepening our commitment to locally rooted, meaningful engagement.

Looking ahead

As we turn our attention to 2026, we’re excited to build on this momentum — with more collaboration, more new voices, and more ways for people to connect with opera.

Here’s to more of the same in 2026.
Keep an eye on our website and social media channels to learn more about our plans for the year ahead.

09 01 26

Work With Us: Digital Festival Producer

Dylan Jenkins

Music Theatre Wales (MTW) is looking for a Digital Festival Producer to lead the development and delivery of Cardiff’s first Digital Opera Festival in March 2027. We need someone who is excited by the creative possibilities of digital technology and who thrives on bringing artists, audiences and partners together to realise ambitious, forward-thinking work. This role is about shaping how opera can be experienced today – across screens, public spaces and live events – and helping digital opera reach new and diverse audiences.

We want to hear what you can bring to the Festival. You might be an experienced producer, project manager, or creative practitioner with a background in digital, immersive or screen-based work. You may have experience working across multiple partners and venues, managing complex programmes, or supporting artists to explore new technologies and formats. What matters most is that you are passionate about innovation in the arts, confident in delivering high-quality projects, and motivated by the challenge of re-imagining opera for the digital age.

This is an opportunity to play a vital role in a pioneering international festival, working closely with artists, technologists and cultural organisations to help shape the future of opera and make it accessible to audiences everywhere.

Fee – £19,500 total contract fee
Hours – To be mutually agreed; approximately 4 days per month for the first 7 months, increasing to around 6 days per month for the following 6 months
Location – Flexible and hybrid
Likely to be primarily home based, with some work at Music Theatre Wales’ offices at Chapter Arts Centre and at the Wales Millennium Centre, where the majority of the Festival will take place
Contract – Freelance contract from end of February 2026 (or as soon as available thereafter) to end of April 2027

Deadline – Friday 13 February 2026 at 11am
Interviews – Week commencing 23 February 2026

Download job pack

Download Application form or apply online Google Application Form

16 12 25

Music Theatre Wales awarded £100,000 by Colwinston Charitable Trust

Dylan Jenkins

Music Theatre Wales are delighted to announce that they will be awarded a grant of £100,000 from the Colwinston Charitable Trust 30^th Anniversary Fund.

Music Theatre Wales (MTW) aims to breathe new life into opera, presenting it as storytelling in music that relates to the world around us. They are working with artists who bring new stories to opera, igniting the power and passion of opera for a much wider audience.

This grant is one of 11 awards being made through the Colwinston Charitable Trust 30^th Anniversary Fund. The grant is being awarded to MTW to support the development and production of two brand new projects in collaboration with Britten Pears Arts and Glyndebourne in 2027.

Further details of these two new projects will be announced next year.

The Special Fund was launched to mark the 30th Anniversary of the Trust and to celebrate innovation, excellence, creative expression and the art of storytelling, be it through music, opera, performance, visual arts, exhibitions, or the written word.

Applications were invited from arts organisations delivering ambitious, innovative and high-profile projects that help people appreciate the endless possibilities the arts can offer and that are designed to achieve ultimate impact and enjoyment for audiences.

Music Theatre Wales Artistic Director, Michael McCarthy said “We are absolutely delighted to have been successful in our application to Colwinston Charitable Trust and to be awarded this support which will enable us to continue to create exceptional opera experiences for audiences in the future. We would like to say a huge thanks to the Colwinston team. It is hugely uplifting to be given such an endorsement in these challenging times as we look to the future of the art form we love. We are excited to be able to begin the collaboration with Britten Pears Arts and Glyndebourne and can’t wait to get plans underway.”

Founder and Chair of Colwinston Charitable Trust, Mathew Prichard CBE said

“‘The Colwinston Trust is delighted to celebrate 30 years of working with many high quality arts organisations across the UK by awarding a special Anniversary Grant to support a new strategic collaboration and the development of new opera by Music Theatre Wales in partnership with Britten Pears Arts and Glyndebourne”

“To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Trust and more than 30,000 performances of The Mousetrap since the play opened on the 8th of June 1952, we wanted to celebrate creative expression and the art of storytelling, be it through music, opera, performance, visual arts, exhibitions, or the written word. The Trust launched this special £1,000,000 fund to celebrate innovation and excellence in the Arts, and to support projects designed to achieve ultimate impact and enjoyment for audiences.”

“My Grandmother spent her life being enthralled by the Arts. She wrote to entertain and loved being entertained by so many different art forms. I remain grateful to all the Arts practitioners who continue to bring her work to life and have enabled the Colwinston Trust to be involved with projects that I think would have been close to her heart. It is my ambition that the 30th anniversary fund will continue to encourage this to happen.”

02 12 25

Out of Time

Dylan Jenkins Digital Works, Street Art Opera

About

Gallery

Partners

Out of Time By Claire Victoria Roberts, Giselle Ty and Lauren Orme. Music perfromed by Sinfonia Cymru. Winner of Best Welsh Performance Film at Focus Wales 2025.

A darkly comic and fantastical tale of a future apocalypse in which nature reclaims its beauty and abundance. Instead of human destruction and depletion, plants and animals rebel against extinction, disrupting everyday life to saturate streets and cities with kaleidoscopic colour. As the natural world thrives, is it too late to apologise to the Earth? From whimsical to psychedelic, an operatic rage ensues.

: Out of Time

: Out of Time

: Out of Time

: Out of Time

Partners

Presented in collaboration with: Sinfonia Cymru, Wrecsam2029, Span Arts, Rhondda Arts Festival, Grange Pavilion, Cardiff Community Housing Association.

Funders

Bonus Content

Take a look behind the scenes with the playlist below — featuring audience reactions from the tour and a special look at how Rahmat-Mercy-Trugaredd was created:

28 11 25