About Ralph Bolland
I’m an actor, writer, poet, theatre-maker of 30 years experience: from small-scale touring, TIE, community and West End theatre in addition to TV & film (‘The Bill’; ‘Casualty’; ‘Doctors’, ‘Taggart’) and over a decade of community arts work. I was runner-up in the inaugural BBC Wales/National Theatre Wales Drama Prize (2013). I’ve written Radio Drama for BBC Scotland: was acting Dramaturg with Theatr Powys and have created many scripts and stage plays for – and with – Young People (and old).
Artistic Director of Mid Powys Youth Theatre (MPYT) for twelve years, I’ve worked to establish a sustainable charity committed to high-quality engagement for young people in a professional theatre desert: helping them find their voice, both literally and metaphorically (as performers, techies, filmmakers, writers), seeking to address the lack of a professional infrastructure in this vast, remote area.
I’ve worked with a wealth of community groups as writer, actor, director, poet or facilitator: Wyeside Arts; Celf o Gwmpas; Play Radnor; Theatr Powys; Radnorshire Wildlife Trust; Shakespeare Link; CAIS/Kaleidoscope; Mid/North Powys Mind; Theatr Brycheiniog; Age Cymru; Courtyard Theatre (Hereford).
In 2017 I devised ‘Tom a Twm’ with Year 9 students (Builth) to tell the extraordinary story of Thomas Prichard. I also worked with participants aged 9 to 90 to devise ‘How To Mend the Broken Heart’ from personal and oral histories of the last thirty years. I spent two years in Dementia Care settings (Herefordshire) using drama, roleplay and poetry for creative engagement and well-being. I worked with Celf o Gwmpas and local people to create a community poem for Llandrindod inspired by the town’s extraordinary architecture and have worked with a number of different school groups on art & education projects through the Arts Council of Wales’ LCS scheme.
