It consists of a 300 seat Main House, a 102 seat Studio Theatre, a bespoke art gallery – Oriel Joanna Field, and Café Torch. The Torch offers over 1,300 shows, films, art exhibitions and live broadcasts annually to audiences in excess of 80,000. The programme offers a lot of variety across drama, comedy, live music, ballet, dance, family shows, opera and new work, as well as producing an annual festive pantomime.
The Torch is led by Executive Director Benjamin Lloyd and its highly acclaimed productions are directed by Artistic Director, Peter Doran. Past productions include Grav, One Man, Two Guvnors, The Wood, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Turn of the Screw, The Hired Man, Neville’s Island, Oh Hello!, The Little Shop of Horrors and An Inspector Calls. In 2015, the Torch Theatre Production Company were double Laurel Award winners for its sell out productions of Grav and Oh Hello! at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. 2017 saw Peter Doran being awarded the Best Director Award at the annual Wales Theatre Awards for the bilingual production Belonging/Perthyn (Re-Live in association with Chapter).
The Torch is an integral part of Pembrokeshire’s artistic and creative community. In addition to a diverse annual programme, it offers a Youth Theatre for Junior & Senior Levels, a Community Choir (Torch Voices), Mother & Baby Groups, Disability Movement Groups (My Moves), Dementia Friendly Film screenings (Movies & Memories) and is also the Pembrokeshire home to the Welsh National Opera’s critically acclaimed Cradle Choir. The Torch also produces Sunset Cinema, an outdoor summer cinema programme which visits some of Pembrokeshire’s and Carmarthenshire’s most iconic locations.
Set in the former fishing town of Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, the Torch is an iconic building in the local skyline. Having originally got its name from the links with the oil and gas industry, the flame in the Torch’s logo celebrates the strong industrial history of Milford Haven and the surrounding region.
The Torch today employs 16 full time permanent members of staff, 7 part time permanent staff, a number of casual staff and has an incredible group of over 70 volunteers who assist around the venue.
The Torch Theatre is a limited company with charitable status and is a publicly funded theatre supported by Arts Council of Wales, The National Lottery and the Welsh Government, Pembrokeshire County Council and Milford Haven Town Council.
