Coronavirus: Theatr Clwyd stages first post-lockdown concert

Theatr Clwyd is hosting its first performance since lockdown - but nobody will be allowed inside the venue.

Instead, 104 people sitting on their own chairs in marked-out pods will watch Mared Williams perform outdoors.

Thursday's event is one of a number of pilots that will help the Welsh Government develop guidance for live performances to restart.

There will also be a triathlon at Pembrey Country Park, Carmarthenshire, and a car rally at Anglesey Circuit.

It is the first time events have been allowed to take place with crowds in Wales since March.

How these three events go will determine if others are allowed to take place in a "safe way" with social distancing, First Minister Mark Drakeford said.

The Mold theatre cancelled its entire programme from April to December, but staff have done outreach work online, hosted blood donation sessions for the Welsh Ambulance Service and helped to distribute food packages to vulnerable families.

"All that we've been fighting for and working for day after day through all of this is to bring people back up our hill for moments of hope and laughter, and to share in a collective joy," said artistic director Tamara Harvey.

"This outdoor season means more to us than is possible to express in words, and brings us one step closer to the day when we can throw open our doors and tell stories together again."

Head of production Hannah Lobb said furloughed staff had recently returned.

"We have come together to try to create something to give everyone the experience of live theatre," she added.

Audience members will take their own chairs, be directed to numbered pods on the grass and order from the bar through a phone app.