In this interview with Natalia Lewis, Managing Director from RE:ACT Performing & Production Arts we learn more about their work.
Across Wales, there is extraordinary creative talent.
Young people with imagination, confidence waiting to grow, and communities full of stories, ideas and creativity. Yet for many people, the route into the arts can still feel unclear, distant or simply out of reach. Working across theatre, arts training and community-based and professional creative projects, one of the questions we find ourselves asking more and more is this:
How do we help make routes into the arts feel more possible?
The barriers can vary greatly for different people. Sometimes it is financial. Sometimes it is geography. Sometimes it is confidence, transport, family circumstance or simply never feeling like spaces in the arts are ‘for people like me’. In many communities, particularly outside major cities, high-quality opportunities can feel difficult to access. Professional training can feel far away. Creative careers can feel disconnected from everyday life. That feels like an important conversation for all of us working in the sector.
At RE:ACT Performing & Production Arts, we often think about how we can play a small part in removing barriers. We deliberately work in communities across Wales because we believe young people should not have to leave their area to access meaningful creative opportunities. We currently offer funded places at every branch, keep fees intentionally affordable, and welcome young people without auditions. We are also passionate about helping young people see the professional world of the arts up close. Whether through visiting industry professionals, workshops, masterclasses or relationships with wider creative organisations, we want young people in Wales to feel connected to opportunities and to understand that creative careers are genuinely possible.
Importantly, we also try to widen the idea of what a creative future can look like. Not every young person wants to stand centre stage. Some discover a passion for directing, technical theatre, stage management, writing, producing or backstage work, careers that are just as important to the industry but often spoken about less. Creating routes into both performing and production arts feels particularly important, especially for young people who may never have realised those opportunities exist.
We also know that access is not only about affordability. Sometimes access means opportunity arriving closer to home. For a young person in Swansea, Llanelli, the Rhondda or another community where opportunities may feel more limited, it might mean meeting a visiting industry professional for the first time. It might mean stepping into a theatre space, building confidence, or realising creative careers are not reserved for ‘other people’. Those moments matter.
At Dog With A Bone Creative Studio, we think about similar questions through a different lens. How can professional creative work leave something meaningful behind? Alongside productions and immersive experiences, we increasingly try to build wider social value into projects, whether through free workshops for schools, education resources, charity partnerships, fundraising support or opportunities for local engagement.
We have also been asking ourselves a wider question.
Can theatre and creative experiences leave more than memories?
Can they help build confidence? Create aspiration? Introduce someone to a creative pathway they had never considered before? We certainly do not have all the answers.
Like many organisations, we are navigating questions around accessibility, sustainability and how to ensure opportunities feel genuinely open. We certainly do not have all the answers, but, like a dog with a bone, we continually strive to find them.
But across Wales, there are brilliant organisations, venues, artists and educators all trying to widen access and strengthen routes into the arts. Perhaps that is where meaningful change happens. Not through one perfect solution, but through organisations, artists, educators, venues and communities all coming together and playing their part.
Because talent exists everywhere in Wales. Opportunity should too.