The Riverfront

The Riverfront, also known in Welsh as Glan yr Afon, is a theatre and multidisciplinary arts centre on Bristol Packet Wharf beside the River Usk in central Newport, Wales. It is described as the city’s principal and newest theatre and arts centre and operates as a civic cultural venue combining professional performances, community participation, visual arts, education, film, music and hospitality. The centre emerged from long-running discussions about a new Newport theatre. Planning conversations had been taking place by 1995, but progress was delayed by changes to local-authority finances. The project was subsequently developed alongside Newport’s bid for city status in 2002. Its estimated cost was £15 million, with support from Arts Council of Wales and grant funding associated with the National Assembly for Wales. Construction began in May 2002 and took approximately two years, although excavation was complicated by the discovery of a medieval ship in the riverbank deposits beneath the site. Designed by Austin-Smith:Lord, the building has a strongly contemporary, angular architectural language that has been associated with deconstructivist design. Its appearance generated both acclaim and criticism. The centre received the Welsh Building of the Year award in 2005 and 2006, while a 2004 public vote placed it second in a survey of Wales’s least attractive buildings. This tension between architectural ambition and local opinion became part of the venue’s public identity. The Riverfront opened on 23 October 2004 with a concert featuring soprano Katharine Jenkins and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Its principal theatre seats 482 people and presents a broad programme including drama, comedy, opera, dance and music. A 128-seat Studio supports smaller-scale, experimental or otherwise more challenging performance and film work. The building also contains workshop rooms, a dance studio, a recording studio, gallery spaces, a café and a bar with views over the river. The facilities support both visiting productions and regular participation programmes, including ceramics, life drawing, salsa, breakdancing, circus skills, youth theatre, rock and pop activity and DJ workshops. The venue’s programme extends beyond conventional theatre. It has hosted touring and broadcast events including BBC One’s Question Time, BBC Radio outside broadcasts and filming connected with Doctor Who. It presents a traditional pantomime during the Christmas and New Year period each year, and became a host venue for the Big Splash festival during the 2010s. The festival brought approximately 20,000 visitors according to the available reference material. The centre also maintains exhibition activity through its main gallery and Basement Gallery, showing photography, painting, sculpture and work by local artists. By its tenth anniversary in 2014, the centre was estimated to be receiving about 90,000 visitors annually, approximately twice the attendance forecast made during construction. At that time, its reported annual activity included around 180 performances, 550 workshops and 110 film screenings. During the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, it received stabilisation support from Arts Council of Wales and the National Lottery, enabling it to manage the disruption and upgrade its ticketing systems. The Riverfront continues to function as a civic venue whose role combines professional programming with local cultural development and arts education.

The Riverfront was developed to provide Newport with a major contemporary theatre and arts centre. Proposals for a new theatre were being discussed as early as 1995, but the project was held back by the reorganisation of local-authority finances. Momentum returned when Newport prepared its bid for city status in 2002. Plans for the new centre formed part of that wider civic-development effort, with an estimated cost of £15 million and financial support from Arts Council of Wales and the National Assembly for Wales. Construction began in May 2002. The building was designed by Austin-Smith:Lord and occupies a prominent position on Bristol Packet Wharf, on the west bank of the River Usk in the city centre. Excavation was delayed in part by the discovery of a medieval ship, estimated in the reference material to be about 500 years old. The find became an important part of the site’s story and later influenced proposals for a dedicated exhibition area beneath the foyer. The centre opened on 23 October 2004 with a concert by Katharine Jenkins and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Its architecture was deliberately striking, with an angular contemporary form described as a celebration of deconstructivism and compared in discussion with the kind of experimental design associated with Zaha Hadid. The building divided opinion. It won the Welsh Building of the Year award in both 2005 and 2006, but also attracted scepticism from some residents; in March 2004 it came second in a public vote for Wales’s most unattractive building. The Riverfront’s original facilities included a 482-seat theatre, a 128-seat Studio, three workshop rooms, a dance studio and a recording studio. The main auditorium was intended for a varied programme of comedy, opera, dance, music and drama, while the Studio provided space for smaller-scale performance and film. The workshop infrastructure enabled the venue to operate as more than a receiving house, supporting activities such as ceramics, life drawing, salsa, breakdancing, circus skills and youth theatre. The recording studio could be hired externally and was used for rock, pop and DJ workshops. Over time, the centre developed a broad public programme. It has hosted BBC One’s Question Time, BBC Radio outside broadcasts and filming connected with Doctor Who. Traditional pantomime became an annual Christmas and New Year feature, while the Big Splash festival made the venue part of a larger outdoor and community-focused cultural programme during the 2010s. The galleries provided space for local artists and free exhibitions covering photography, painting and sculpture; the Basement Gallery hosted the Ghosts in Armour exhibition in 2008. The discovery of the Newport Ship was another significant strand of the centre’s history. The approximately 25-metre vessel, dating from around 1465, was found immersed in the mud of the Usk during excavation for the theatre’s orchestra pit. Its significance was compared in the source material with that of the Mary Rose. During a six-month excavation, an exhibition space was designed and constructed beneath the foyer using self-compacting waterproof concrete. The space had to be integrated into the building and built around existing piles without compromising the theatre’s facilities. Although the centre was proposed as a possible permanent home for the conserved ship, concerns were raised that the basement might not provide enough space for the entire vessel. The ship remains in storage elsewhere, and a permanent public-display decision has not been made. At its tenth anniversary in 2014, The Riverfront was estimated to welcome 90,000 visitors each year, twice the original construction estimate. Its annual activity was reported at about 180 performances, 550 workshops and 110 film screenings. In 2020, the venue received Arts Council of Wales and National Lottery stabilisation funding during the COVID-19 outbreak. The support was intended to help preserve operations during the disruption and improve ticketing infrastructure. The Riverfront’s continuing role is therefore both artistic and civic: it presents professional work while providing education, participation, exhibition and community facilities for Newport and its surrounding audiences.

• 2020

  COVID-19 stabilisation support

  [1]Riverfront Arts Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Arts Council of Wales and National Lottery funding supported the venue during the pandemic and helped fund ticketing-system improvements.

• 2014

  Tenth anniversary activity

  [1]Riverfront Arts Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The centre’s estimated annual attendance reached 90,000, with substantial performance, workshop and film activity.

• 2010

  Aladdin pantomime appearance

  [1]Riverfront Arts Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist Mark James performed as Aladdin during the Christmas season.

• 2008

  Ghosts in Armour exhibition

  [1]Riverfront Arts Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The Basement Gallery hosted the Ghosts in Armour exhibition.

• 2005

  First Welsh Building of the Year award

  [1]Riverfront Arts Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The building received the Welsh Building of the Year award, followed by a second recognition in 2006.

• 2004

  The Riverfront opens

  [1]Riverfront Arts Centreen.wikipedia.org

  The centre opened on 23 October with a concert featuring Katharine Jenkins and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

• 2002

  Project advances during Newport’s city-status bid

  [1]Riverfront Arts Centreen.wikipedia.org

  A new arts centre was planned as part of Newport’s civic development during its bid for city status, with an estimated cost of £15 million.

• 2002

  Construction begins

  [1]Riverfront Arts Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Construction of the Riverfront Arts Centre began in May.

• 1995

  Early proposals for a new Newport theatre

  [1]Riverfront Arts Centreen.wikipedia.org

  Plans for a new theatre in Newport were discussed, although progress was later delayed by changes to local-authority finances.

A civic, community-oriented arts venue combining professional theatre and touring events with participatory arts education, local exhibitions, film, festivals and cultural activity beside the River Usk.

• Theatre and live performance · 2004

  Main Theatre

  The principal auditorium has seating for 482 people and presents a mixed programme of drama, comedy, opera, dance and music. It serves as the venue’s main space for touring productions, concerts, seasonal shows and larger community or civic events.

• Studio performance and film · 2004

  The Studio

  The 128-seat Studio provides a more intimate setting for smaller-scale performances, experimental programming and film activity. Its size allows the venue to accommodate work that may not suit the main auditorium, including more challenging or specialist projects.

• Arts education and participation · 2004

  Arts workshops and classes

  Three workshop spaces and a dance studio support participatory activity including ceramics, life drawing, salsa, breakdancing, circus skills, theatre and youth programmes. The offer extends the centre’s role from presenting performances to enabling local people to make and study art.

• Music and media facility · 2004

  Recording Studio

  The recording studio is available for external hire and has supported rock, pop and DJ workshops. It forms part of the centre’s broader creative-learning infrastructure and provides a dedicated setting for music-oriented activity.

• Visual arts exhibition · 2004

  Gallery and Basement Gallery

  The Riverfront’s gallery spaces host local artists and free exhibitions involving photography, painting and sculpture. The Basement Gallery has also been used for themed exhibitions, including Ghosts in Armour in 2008.

• Seasonal theatre · 2004

  Annual pantomime

  Since opening, the venue has presented traditional pantomimes during the Christmas and New Year period. Referenced productions include Jack and the Beanstalk in 2007 and Aladdin in 2010, both featuring Mark James during the seasonal run.

• Heritage exhibition · 2004

  Newport Ship exhibition project

  Excavation for the theatre uncovered the remains of a fifteenth-century vessel known as the Newport Ship. An underground exhibition space was designed to interpret the discovery and potentially display the conserved ship, although the vessel remains in storage elsewhere and no permanent public-display decision has been recorded.

• 2010Big Splash festival

  Newport · Wales

  During the 2010s, The Riverfront became a host venue for the annual Big Splash festival, extending its activity into a city-wide or outdoor cultural setting and connecting the centre with large-scale public participation.

  Outcome. The festival was reported to attract approximately 20,000 visitors.

  Source

• 2020

  Pandemic stabilisation and ticketing upgradeStrategy

  Background

  The COVID-19 outbreak disrupted theatre and arts operations and threatened the financial stability of cultural venues.

  Action taken

  The Riverfront received Arts Council of Wales and National Lottery stabilisation funding, including support for improvements to its ticketing systems.

  Aftermath

  The funding was intended to help maintain the venue through the disruption and strengthen its operational infrastructure.

  Source

• 2004

  Integration of the Newport Ship discovery into the building projectOther

  Background

  Excavation for the theatre orchestra pit uncovered the remains of a large fifteenth-century ship, creating a heritage and engineering issue within an active construction site.

  Action taken

  A waterproof underground exhibition space was designed beneath the foyer around existing piles, while preserving the planned theatre facilities.

  Aftermath

  The space interpreted the discovery, but the ship remains stored elsewhere and its permanent display location has not been resolved.

  Source

• 2002

  Development of a new civic arts centreStrategy

  Background

  Newport sought a major new cultural venue as part of its civic development and city-status bid, following years of discussion about replacing or supplementing existing theatre provision.

  Action taken

  The project proceeded with an estimated £15 million budget and support from Arts Council of Wales and National Assembly for Wales grant funding.

  Aftermath

  Construction began in May 2002 and the completed centre opened in October 2004.

  Source

1. 1Riverfront Arts Centreen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centrenewportlive.co.uk