It’s easy to imagine New York’s famed off-Broadway theatres have seen it all by now. These are, after all, the city’s breeding ground for exciting new productions, and have helped launch some of the most successful shows of all time, from Rent to Little Shop of Horrors.
But it seems a new “first” is on the way, courtesy of one Welsh production.
Following an acclaimed tour across Wales, Theatr Cymru’s production of Parti Priodas is now enjoying a limited international run, playing shows in London, before journeying across the Atlantic to the USA.
Here, the show is set to make history. In the first instance, the play will become the first Welsh-language production to headline the North American Festival of Wales, a long-running festival held in a different US or Canadian city on the first weekend of September each year. The 2026 edition of the festival will be held in Springfield, Massachusetts. Then, three days later, the show will make its off-Broadway debut at the Judith O. Rubin Theater in New York City, becoming what is thought to be the first primary Welsh-language theatre show to play in an off-Broadway venue.
Parti Priodas tells the story of one wild wedding reception in North Wales. A comedy show, but with important underlying themes, the action in the play focuses on the experiences of two wedding guests, Lowri and Idris, as they try to survive the occasion – despite family arguments, language tensions and the inevitable wedding pitfall of excessive alcohol consumption. The show, written by Gruffudd Owen and produced by the Welsh-language national theatre, Theatr Cymru, originally debuted at the 2023 Llŷn and Eifionydd National Eisteddfod before embarking on its highly successful tour across Wales, during which time it won a UK Theatre Award.
Though performed in Welsh, the production utilises Theatr Cymru’s dedicated translation mobile app, Sibrwd, to ensure non-Welsh speakers can keep up with the action.
Speaking about the production, Steffan Donnelly, Theatr Cymru’s Artistic Director and director of Parti Priodas, said, ‘Premiering Parti Priodas off-Broadway is a historic moment for our company. Taking Gruffudd Owen’s award-winning and brilliantly witty exploration of rural Welsh life from the fields of Pen Llŷn to the heart of New York City is a dream realised – proving that our local stories have a universal appeal.’
‘We cannot wait for American audiences to experience our language and the deep cultural resonance of this special production,’ he added.
Parti Priodas will be playing at the North American Festival of Wales in Springfield, Massachusetts on 2 September, and at the Judith O. Rubin Theater, New York City, on 5 September. It will also be playing at the London Welsh Centre in the English capital on 27 and 28 August.
Following the success of Parti Priodas, Theatr Cymru have announced that a sequel, Te Angladd, also written by Gruffudd Owen, will be touring across Wales in spring 2027.
Learn more about the venues in Wales showcasing top-class Welsh theatre productions.