Velvet Cole: So my name is Velvet Cole and I work at Theatr Brycheiniog as the marketing assistant.
Jay Edwards: I'm Jay Edwards, I work at Theatr Brycheiniog as business support assistant.
Velvet Cole: So I've come and gone throughout the years, doing different bits and bobs here, but now I'm quite settled. So I'm staying forever.
Jay Edwards: I've only been here about five, no, six months. Yeah. Yeah. But new to that. Completely.
Velvet Cole: Brecon like, a creative little bubble. Like it's... for such a small place theres the open art studios that have taken part over the last couple years. Did do quite a bit for the women's festival. There's a lot of artists in Brecon love singers, poets. It's just Yeah, for a small places is very creative, which is obviously I think why the theatre is so important. And all the little groups been so important.
Jay Edwards: It's a very inspirational place as well...
Velvet Cole: It is Yeah...
Jay Edwards: ...With the Black Mountains around...
Velvet Cole: ...Yeah. I mean, yeah....
Jay Edwards: ...National Park...
Velvet Cole: If you're, if you're an artist or writer, I mean, yeah. There is plenty to to inspire you. For sure.
Interviewer: Why do you think it's such a hub, for such a small place?
Velvet Cole: I don't know I have thought about this a few times. And I think like Jay said about the mountains and the atmosphere of it. I think that inspires creativity, but I think it's the people. I think it's because it's a small town.
Jay Edwards: It's quite a community here. Altogether.
Velvet Cole: Yeah. Yeah. And it's easy for people to form groups and to come up with ideas and projects and see them through. So yeah, I think I think it'd be in a fairly small town helps. But I have a daughter who's four so obviously Brecon is a nice place. So you got you got this place, you've got plenty to walk around and do. out and do you got um walking up the common. The Mountain centre. Go there quite a bit of fresh air.
Velvet Cole: Yeah, I don't really get come to Brecon as much apart from work on a lunch break or live up to the market. Usually some food or St. Mary's bakery is usually my focus and then on the weekend. I might have popped up if I wanted to see a show or walk down the canal or there's the canal cruisers as well I like those so one of those days. Interviewer What's the canal cruises?
Jay Edwards: Um Dragonfly they do a two and a half hour trip down to the aqueduct and back up and so a bit of a canal nerd with those.
Velvet Cole: It's a really nice trip though.
Jay Edwards: Yeah, it's very relaxing. Pop a CD on so you just learn about it and have a cup of tea on the boat. I think my favourite was always about the, I cant remember the tunnel now Ashford tunnel and Talybont and that you used to let the horses walk around and over the hill a bit and the which would pull the barges then you'd have people who would lie on top of the barge and they'd use their feet on the tunnel to walk it through. And it's about 300 foot so it's quite dark scary and you have to keep it straight because as soon as you hit one wall, you're hitting the next and the next. So always like that. And then also then tell customers not to let the kids on the roof doing it because they would.
Both: hahaha
Jay Edwards: I think just for the future of the theatre as well, because that's kind of where we base where we've met each other, where we work. I think the future of it will be really exciting. It's going through like innovative time right now, because it's got new director. He's been there for a year now, but he still says he's new.
Jay Edwards: But he's great.
Jay Edwards: It's kind of great to see how it ties in with the community more as well, like Brecon on bells. I think there's plans for that. And just whatever, maybe local groups who could start there, whether they youth or because we're quite close to the U3, we'll be good to cover all generations more. Yeah, we'll be quite fun.
Velvet Cole: Yeah. we got plans so yeah, yeah, I think it's it's an outlet for creativity, as well as a community space. And obviously with the community centre, closed about two years ago, the one on Cadoc Hill. So I think keeping buildings like the theatre open, so important, because it's this place for people to go. All the groups you've got there. Is this an inspiration you walk into the building and you, I do anyway, it just makes you feel inspired and happy. I think it's important to keep places like that alive.
Jay Edwards: Yeah, it's quite, um, it's not super rural right here, but around us is quite rural. And it's for a medium sized theatre. It's amazing to be in this sort of central location of Wales, and like the arts is quite hard to access sometimes, especially when you're rural and transport and all. So it's quite nice to have such a large theatre somewhere quite quiet, and pulling in everyone and everyone should be like to be able to see sort of theatre art, drama, whether it's exhibitions or shows. So it's really nice to have that access.
Jay Edwards: Yeah. i agree with that.
Interviewer: And just one final question, if you were to describe Brecon to someone that didn't know the town. How would you describe Brecon?
Jay Edwards: It's warm. It's comfortably small, it's like a cottage town. Yeah, it's kind of like everyone knows everyone. There's always lush food lush drinks going about. And there's always something going on. So I mean, there's this project with the Arwain cathedral and you've got the theatre and you've got all the sort of like little venues like The Muse. Just something to always do on the weekend, whether it's music or an exhibition, there's workshops for sewing. It's just great. It's lovely.
Velvet Cole: Yeah, it's a really creative town. And lots of opportunity, I think and the more you look into opportunities, the more you find things out so it is really cool.