Our picks: The National Eisteddfod 2026
The Eisteddfod is back, and we’ve selected some of the music, theatre, dance and film events we’re most looking forward to throughout the week in Pembrokeshire.
Opera features in this year’s programme in several different forms. We’re especially proud to see Tuag Opera, our project with Tŷ Cerdd, return to the Eisteddfod for a second year. During 2024 and 2025, Music Theatre Wales and Tŷ Cerdd delivered a mentored programme for six composers and six writers to explore the creation of new opera in Welsh. Our aim was to initiate a wider discussion around new Welsh-language opera and encourage greater engagement among artists and opera makers, and we were thrilled when the National Eisteddfod offered to present a concert performance of all six operatic extracts created through the workshop process.
Following the success of that performance and the incredible response from the audience, Tŷ Cerdd has been able to offer three of the composer-writer teams the opportunity to develop their operatic pieces further for a small ensemble. The works by Nathan James Dearden, Lowri Mair Jones and Sarah Lianne Lewis and their librettist partners will be performed live at Y Stiwdio at 19:30 on Friday 7 August.
Artists from Welsh National Opera will also perform at Encore, while OPRA Cymru will discuss how opera and the arts can work with communities. Tanau’r Lloer, a Welsh-language opera film inspired by Un Nos Ola Leuad, adds another distinctive operatic strand to the programme.
From musicals and street theatre to jazz, dance, folk music and new performance, here are our picks from this year’s Eisteddfod y Garreg Las:
Saturday 1 August
13:00 – Swyn Tir y Garreg Las — Y Tebot Hud
An otherworldly show with Catrin Finch and Carys Eleri, weaving harp, fire, story and song to transport audiences into the history and magic of Dyfed.
13:30 – Remembering John Weston Thomas — Tŷ Gwerin
A discussion about John Weston Thomas, the pioneering harp maker from Letterston, with an opportunity to see and hear some of his instruments.
14:00 – Tŷ Unnos — Sinemaes
A documentary presented as a fairy tale, told through the eyes of the children who visited Penrhos and reflecting on their memories and the place’s legacy.
19:30 – Sefyll ar y Sgwâr — Y Pafiliwn
A new musical built around the songs of Ail Symudiad, featuring the Eisteddfod Garreg Las Choir.
19:30 – Blodeugerdd — Encore
A project led by Tomos Williams that reimagines Welsh folk traditions through contemporary jazz, featuring some of Wales’s leading jazz musicians.
Sunday 2 August
12:15 – Sonant — Encore
Piano duo Siân James and Sioned Webb perform original music inspired by traditional Welsh melodies.
13:00 – Swyn Tir y Garreg Las — Y Tebot Hud
An otherworldly show with Catrin Finch and Carys Eleri, weaving harp, fire, story and song to transport audiences into the history and magic of Dyfed.
15:00 – Folk Groups’ Talwrn — Tŷ Gwerin
A lively competition in which folk groups present their singing and music before a panel of judges.
17:00 – Remembering Terrence Higgins — Mas ar y Maes
An event with the South Wales Gay Men’s Chorus commemorating the life and legacy of Haverfordwest-born Terry Higgins and celebrating the work of the Terrence Higgins Trust.
Monday 3 August
12:00 – Y Gadair / The Chair — Theatr Stryd a Dawns
A dance and theatre performance comparing the ceremony of chairing the Bard with the experiences of people who use wheelchairs.
16:00 – Paallam Arts: Between the Hills and the Sea – a Dialogue Across Distance and Song — Theatr Stryd a Dawns
A dance and music work following two people from different backgrounds as they explore identity, belonging and the idea of home in Wales.
16:30 – Towyn Roberts Scholarship Workshop — Y Stiwdio
A session in which the classical scholarship competitors work with the judging panel to develop their performance skills and careers.
19:30 – Sefyll ar y Sgwâr — Y Pafiliwn
A new musical built around the songs of Ail Symudiad, featuring the Eisteddfod Garreg Las Choir.
21:15 – Welsh of the West End × Y Band Mawr — Llwyfan y Maes
A major evening of Welsh pop classics reimagined through the voices of Welsh of the West End and the energetic sound of Y Band Mawr.
Tuesday 4 August
13:30 – Nansi Richards Scholarship — Encore
A harp recital by Yasmin Ceri Richards, winner of the 2026 Nansi Richards Scholarship.
16:00 – Tanau’r Lloer / Fires of the Moon — Sinemaes
A Welsh-language opera film inspired by Un Nos Ola Leuad, weaving together grief, memory and mental health through music by Gareth Glyn.
Wednesday 5 August
15:30 – Musical Theatre Workshop — Y Stiwdio
A practical workshop exploring the singing, acting and movement skills at the heart of musical theatre performance.
17:00 – Natur: A Musical Drama for Children
A new musical drama by Morgan Elwy and Arad Goch exploring our relationship with nature, pollution and what we can do to help the planet.
17:15 – Folk Stomp 1176 — Tŷ Gwerin
An energetic celebration of folk music and dance connecting today’s Eisteddfod with the first recorded festival held in Cardigan in 1176.
17:45 – AMgen: Gwenno Morgan — Encore
A musical session with pianist and composer Gwenno Morgan, whose work combines classical, jazz, folk and cinematic influences.
20:00 – Frân Wen: A Week in Future Wales — Caffi Maes B
A preview of Frân Wen’s new stage adaptation of Islwyn Ffowc Elis’s iconic novel, exploring possible futures for Wales.
Thursday 6 August
13:00 – Swyn Tir y Garreg Las — Y Tebot Hud
An otherworldly show with Catrin Finch and Carys Eleri, weaving harp, fire, story and song to transport audiences into the history and magic of Dyfed.
16:30 – Atgof o’r Sêr / Memory of the Stars — Y Stiwdio
A performance marking 25 years since Robat Arwyn’s song cycle for mixed choir, soloists and piano, originally commissioned for the 2001 Eisteddfod.
17:00 – Gwrach-od — Theatr Stryd a Dawns
An outdoor dance work inspired by Ceridwen, Blodeuwedd and Arianrhod, featuring live music by HMS Morris and inviting the audience to join the dance.
20:00 – Frân Wen: Theatr Unnos / One-Night Theatre — Caffi Maes B
The result of a 24-hour creative challenge in which artists devise a brand-new piece of theatre and present it to an audience the following evening.
Friday 7 August
17:30 – Arad Goch: Beca Calling — Theatr Stryd a Dawns
A participatory street-theatre production that reimagines the history and mythology of the Rebecca Riots in a lively, contemporary form.
19:00 – Ar y Cae / On the Field — Mas ar y Maes
A musical by Nia Morais and Leila Navabi about Non and Jade, two lesbians on opposing sides of a community dispute who find themselves drawn together.
19:30 – Tuag Opera / Towards Opera — Y Stiwdio
Three new Welsh-language opera pieces return following further development, created by Nathan James Dearden, Lowri Mair Jones and Sarah Lianne Lewis with their librettist partners.
20:00 – Gwrach-od — Theatr Stryd a Dawns
An outdoor dance work inspired by Ceridwen, Blodeuwedd and Arianrhod, featuring live music by HMS Morris and inviting the audience to join the dance.
Saturday 8 August
11:00 – Tanau’r Lloer / Fires of the Moon — Sinemaes
A Welsh-language opera film inspired by Un Nos Ola Leuad, weaving together grief, memory and mental health through music by Gareth Glyn.
12:15 – Welsh National Opera — Encore
A short concert by Welsh National Opera artists, offering a taste of the company’s operatic voices and repertoire.
14:00 – Theatr Byd Bychan: Pleth — Theatr Stryd a Dawns
A journey into a Welsh temperate rainforest using puppetry, movement, Foley sound and British Sign Language to explore our connection with the natural world.
14:30 – The Arts and the Community – OPRA Cymru — Cymdeithasau 2
A discussion about how the arts can work with communities, drawing on OPRA Cymru’s experience of making Welsh-language opera accessible in schools, village halls and venues across Wales.
15:00 – Composer’s Medal — Y Stiwdio
The premieres of six new choral works setting words by Waldo Williams, composed by Andrew Cusworth, Claire Victoria Roberts and Gwenno Morgan, ahead of the presentation of the Composer’s Medal later in the Pavilion.