The Shape of Things to Come 2025
4 Walls. 5 Shows. 6 Weeks.
Volcano is commissioning five new short performances (around 30 minutes) for our Swansea High Street venue starting in May 2025. Now in its fourth year, this initiative, originally launched as Solo Duets for the Future, continues to inspire performers to explore new ways of creating and sharing work with live audiences.
This year, we are introducing The Room – a simple, adaptable space that serves as the foundation for each performance. By focusing on a single set, we hope to inspire bold, innovative works that challenge traditional boundaries of performance, while encouraging fresh perspectives on how a space can influence the work within it.
The aim of this commission series is to spark creativity and invite artists to push the limits of performance in imaginative and unexpected ways. It is about looking forward, exploring new possibilities, and offering something engaging and thought-provoking for audiences. Each piece will explore a range of themes, from personal reflections to global futures, always with an eye toward creating connections and provoking conversation.
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Volcano Youth Company
Volcano Youth Company provides an opportunity for young people to explore their ideas, inspire one another, and discover new skills.
Venue Hire
As well as being the nerve centre of the production company, our venue is an independent arthouse for the city, hosting performances, exhibitions, events and activities by visiting and local artists and companies.
VOLCANO YOUTH COMPANY
NEW SEASON 2024/25
Join us on Sundays from 2pm-4pm! Your first session is always free and no-commitment. The current season began in mid-November. This is a fantastic opportunity for young people aged 13-16 to dive into the world of theatre through improvisation, physical performance, and creative collaboration. Experience the fun and supportive environment led by experienced professionals, and see if VYC is the right fit for you.
Under Milk Wood
In the year that Under Milk Wood entered the public domain, Volcano returned to the play that we were banned from performing by the Dylan Thomas estate all those years ago. Combining the striking simplicity of the original design with five new voices from Wales and beyond, Volcano’s anarchic Under Milk Wood premiered at our Swansea High Street home in November/December 2024. Under MIlk Wood is available for touring from October 2025.
Volcano’s version begins by evoking the famous 1953 reading in New York, before enclosing the audience with the inhabitants of Thomas’s fictional town in the nighttime envelope of their lyrical, anarchic utopia. A close-up, colourful, sensory experience, with a soundtrack ranging from Stravinsky to Tom Jones.
