The Gate Arts Centre
Encyclopedia
The Gate Arts Centre (often just referred to as The Gate) is a vibrant community building which is located in Keppoch Street, just off City Road, in the Roath
Roath
Roath is a district in the east/north-east of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales.It lies just east/north east of the city centre, stretching from Adamsdown in the south to Roath Park in the north. Roath contains the Plasnewydd electoral ward. The name is believed to originate from Irish ráth,...

 suburb of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

. The Gate is in a Grade 2 listed building (in what was formally the Plasnewydd Presbyterian Church) and was opened in September 2004.

Recently Songs of Praise
Songs of Praise
Songs of Praise is a BBC Television programme based around traditional Christian hymns. It is a widely watched and long-running religious television programme, one of the few peak-time free-to-air religious programmes in Europe Songs of Praise is a BBC Television programme based around traditional...

 was filmed here for BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

.

Workshops

Throughout the week a variety of courses and workshops are held at the centre ranging from dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

 to creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...

.
The Gate Arts Centre Weekly Classes

Drama

The Gate Arts Centre also offers drama classes. The theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

 is often used for performances and plays. The Saturday morning theatre group, Performers, uses the venue regularly and uses the upstairs theatre for its performances.

Spaces

After four years of planning and refurbishment under the guidance of architect Rob Cruwys, it opened The Gate doors in September 2004.

The Grand Theatre, formerly an upper section of the church, is now a spectacular performance space seating up to 350 on the original wooden pews which now span a raked gallery floor. The architectural beauty of the original church provides an area to inspire performers and offers an intimate setting for audiences.

The Dance Studio still features the original intricately carved pulpit and elaborate columns, adding character to the highly functional dance space.

Two Exhibition Galleries are housed in The Gate, the first around a wonderful glazed screen and curved pew (originally the front entrance to the church), the other constructed against the original exterior stone wall which is still visible.

A stylish Cafe Bar has been formed in the original schoolroom, the oldest part of the building dating back to 1896
The Gate has a range of spaces available including an auditorium in which visiting theatre and musical groups are able to perform. There is also a bar and an exhibition space. Local celebrities have been known to hang out here including Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...

 and Gavin Henson
Gavin Henson
Gavin Lloyd Henson is a Welsh rugby union player, born in Pencoed, South Wales, currently playing for Cardiff Blues.He attracted much media attention as part of a Wales national team which achieved Grand Slams in the Six Nations Championship in 2005 and 2008...

.

Founders

Among the founders of the community was Rob Lacey
Rob Lacey
Rob Lacey was a British actor, storyteller and author of the word on the street and The Liberator.- Background :...

, his wife Sandra Harnich-Lacey still uses the venue for her theatre school, Performers.

Events

Recently local musician and BBC Radio Wales
BBC Radio Wales
BBC Radio Wales is the BBC's national radio station broadcasting to Wales in the English language. Operated by BBC Wales, it began broadcasting on 12 November 1978 following the demise of the old "Radio 4 Wales" when BBC Radio 4 became a national network and moved from medium wave to long wave...

 presenter Mal Pope
Mal Pope
Mal Pope , is a Welsh musician and composer, who is especially notable for his contribution to music theatre portraying Welsh national identities and themes...

 performed at The Gate. Oxjam Cardiff Chill also took place at the venue last October.

History

The Gate is housed in a 100 year old Grade II listed building. Formally the Plasnewydd Presbyterian Church, it is located in Keppoch Street in the Roath area of Cardiff.

The Gate centre was purchased in 2000 and underwent a four year redevelopment with the aid of £1.2M from the Heritage Lottery Fund, £1.2M from a private individual and £400,000 from the Welsh Assembly Government. After four years of planning and refurbishment under the guidance of architect Rob Cruwys, it opened its doors in September 2004.

It is now a modern, multi-functional arts centre with its architectural integrity completely preserved.

Our solicitors store a number of historical documents relating to The Gate including:

History At The Gate

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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