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2019: what a year

It's amazing how much we manage to cram in to just 12 months and 2019 was no different - a fantastic year with a fresh batch of our own productions and plenty of huge shows gracing the Donald Gordon Theatre stage.

January...

Jersey Boys, The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons was back by popular demand and didn't disappoint fans, delivering all the hits including: Beggin’, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Walk Like a Man and more.

February...

Welsh National Opera (WNO) launched their spring season with a brand-new production Un ballo in maschera - kick-starting a season that ran all the way until May.

Welsh National Opera

March...

March saw the National Theatre bring an epic and visually daring production of Shakespeare’s intense tragedy to Cardiff during its UK tour.

And Susie Blake and Simon Shepherd joined the cast for the first ever UK stage adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d. Our co-production with Wiltshire Creative was enjoyed by over 28,000 people across four cities and is on tour in India from 30 Jan - 9 Feb 2020.

The 'chuffing brilliant' Full Monty arrived just in time for the start of the Six Nations rugby tournament which provided the perfect opportunity for a patriotic photo shoot with Welsh star, Kai Owen. Wales won the Grand Slam too!

Actor Kai Owen wearing a white vest, holding a Welsh flag outside Wales Millennium Centre

And Motown the Musical Brought had fans dancing in the aisles. Read more about it in our Motown blog.

April...

American choreographer, Mark Morris brought us Pepperland - his unique tribute to one of the best-selling albums of all time: The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and there were plenty of great reasons to see it.

Following her triumphant West End run and sell-out UK Tour, Alexandra Burke returned to the role of Rachel Marron in Cardiff and blew audiences away with her powerhouse vocals in The Bodyguard.

Alexandra Burke wearing a blue dress singing into a microphone on stage during The Bodyguard The Musical

Calendar Girls featuring the music of Gary Barlow and Tim Firth arrived too with an all-star cast and plenty of sunflowers scattered throughout the main foyer.

May...

Saturday nights changed forever with our new cabaret dining experience, Supper Clwb - featuring comedy, drag, burlesque and musical themed nights, two free drinks and sharing plates for just £30. Keep an eye out for more of these in 2020.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat dazzled audiences ahead of the Urdd National Eisteddfod arriving at the end of May which saw hundreds of young people enjoying the sights of Cardiff Bay and performing in our theatre. Wales manager Ryan Giggs and actor, Iwan Rheon were spotted 'cwtching' Mr Urdd too!

Game of Thrones star Iwan Rheon holding hands with Mr Urdd

June...

WNO's Freedom Season explored the theme of human rights through a series of semi-staged productions, discussions, exhibitions and digital experiences throughout the Centre.

Nick Cave held an intimate evening in the Donald Gordon Theatre complete with stories and songs and Matthew Bourne continued to deliver, with his contemporary re-imagining of Shakespeare's classic love story, Romeo and Juliet.

July...

For six weeks over the summer holidays we packed out the Centre with free activities, shows, Gaia - a huge sculpture of the Earth and a busy VR Zone which saw more than 3,500 people diving into our immersive experiences.

Kinky Boots the 'freshest, most fabulous, feel-good musical of the decade' was with us in mid-July - complete with a giant pair of giant Kinky Boots for the ultimate fan-photo opportunity - and the show continued to win hearts and minds.

And everyone liked to 'Move it, Move it' with Madagascar The Musical including one very special relaxed performance with a great atmosphere, enjoyed by everyone who attended. We'll be doing more of these in future so keep an eye on our listings.

August...

Club Tropicana brought some much-needed sunshine to Cardiff along with a fabulous 80s soundtrack led by Joe McElderry and friends who looked they had a whale of a time on stage.

The sun came out for Annie too as the smash hit musical returned to Cardiff direct from London's West End with it's unforgettable soundtrack.

September...

WNO's autumn season saw three fantastic productions, Carmen, Rigoletto and The Cunning Little Vixen which also featured an amazing AR exhibition inside our Glanfa foyer.

Autumn lineup poster for the WNO season

October...

Performances for the Curious returned and took us right up to Christmas with over 30 incredible productions and some brilliant Welsh language productions.

There was plenty of music in the air too with Grease The Musical and On Your Feet which told the inspiring true love story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan - from Cuba to the streets of Miami and international superstardom.

November...

Wales’ very own Caroline Sheen and Amber Davies starred in 9 to 5 The Musical - the classic singalong based on the iconic 1980s film featuring Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda.

And taking us towards Christmas was Nativity! The Musical and there were plenty of smiling faces as Christmas came early to the Centre.

December...

Loved by millions, it's fair to say we sold out of tickets pretty quickly after announcing that Les Misérables was returning to Cardiff. Here's a quick blog about why we love it so much.

A scene from Les Mis featuring actors on stage holding banners and flags in a defiant manner.

RED, our Christmas co-production with Likely Story delivered a reworking of the classic fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood with weird and wonderful creatures, an ancient Grandma Red and for once...the wolves were the good guys.

Graphic showing a woman in a red cape against a snowy background with fir trees and a moon

And that's it...for 2019. We hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have. Check back soon to see what we've got coming up in 2020...