A committed consortium

A new stage adaptation of Wuthering Heights will open in Aberystwyth Arts Centre in March, prior to a tour that will take it the length and breadth of Wales. With a new script by Lucy Gough and directed by Mark Babych, the project has been a number of years in the planning stages. A unique partnership between a number of theatres and arts organisations in Wales, all of whom are contributing towards the cost of the production, has made this possible. The co-producers are Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Creu Cymru (the development agency for theatres and arts centres in Wales), Theatr Mwldan (Cardigan), Theatr Brycheiniog (Brecon), Taliesin Arts Centre (Swansea) and The Riverfront (Newport). Supported by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and Arts Council of Wales, the production will also tour to venues outside this core group.

Working together to produce a touring production has both benefits and challenges. In our case, the idea of working together came first, before the production itself was chosen. It emerged from discussions between mid-scale theatres and arts centres in Wales, all members of Creu Cymru, about the sort of work we wanted to be able to present. As a group we considered working with other companies and partners but eventually agreed on Aberystwyth Arts Centre’s proposal of ‘Wuthering Heights’, based on previous experience with commissioned adaptations, notably Neil Bartlett’s version of Great Expectations.

The core group of theatres and arts centres that make up the partnership have all worked together over many years on a range of projects, so we know each other well and have built up a relationship of trust, which is vital. The team at Aberystwyth Arts Centre are leading on the Wuthering Heights project and contributing the most in terms of finance, staff and physical resources – but in the past other members of the consortium have led on numerous major touring projects, so there is a history of successful collaborative work to build on.

A significant benefit of a collaborative project is the coordination of funding. Not only are the individual theatres and arts centres committed to the project financially, but the partnership of organisations makes us a much stronger proposition for sourcing other funding. Furthermore, the Wuthering Heights project benefits from the fact that we all have a vested interest in making it a success and we all believe that we are providing something unique, that our audiences will find both stimulating and enjoyable. Working together provides a valuable model which our partnership of theatres and arts centre will continue to develop and improve in our planned future projects which will including also partners from outside Wales.