This highly visual performance with recorded local voices, has seen Welsh circus and theatre talent perform with live music by Simon McCorry (Cellist) with fire installations and performances that completely transformed the colliery site.

 

Now and Ever More has seen local performers using the stories and legacy of the mine’s past expressed through their circus and performance skills. Now and Ever More was originally an idea that was for the community of Pontypridd before the floods in 2020, and before the pandemic. It took until 2022 to realise the opportunity of brining fire installations and performances that would transform the colliery site.

 

The title was inspired by the refrain of the famous hymn Bread of Heaven - “feed me now and evermore” - sung to the tune of Cwm Rhondda which was first heard in the chapel near the site.

 

The 2022 performance of Now and Ever More was held at The Great Western Colliery, also known as the ‘Hetty Pit’ located on the Rhondda Road, between Trehafod and Pontypridd.  Its original Engine Room is beautifully preserved and stands as a symbol of the care that a handful of special local people have for their heritage and the history of the area.

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The mine was opened originally as the "Gyfeillon Pit” in 1851 and closed in 1983. The mine was one of many in the area, and saw many dark moments in its past, including a disaster in 1893 when a fire in the colliery led to the deaths of 63 men and boys. The colliery closed in 1983, but while the pit and its shafts may have been closed, the immaculate Engine remains at the site.

 

Local Councillor and Trustee of the site, Tina Leyshon said, "The Preservation Trust is very proud that Citrus Arts is working with us to put on this event for our local community. We hope to carry this work on, creating partnerships with local communities and organisations to keep the Hetty winding house for future generations"