The Gate

If you’re looking for some alternative and interesting arts and entertainment then The Gate is a fantastic small venue in the heart of the student district of Roath between Albany and City Road. Always a warm welcome, interesting choice at the bar and nice people.

Using places of worship as shops has always been a contentious issue.
Now, I’m not going Unilocaling mad and regurgitating the start of my Rainbow Bargains review for the sake of it.
Rather, I’ve been wondering what makes it terrible for one chap to convert an old church into a cheap and tacky bargain store while it is acceptable (or maybe even desirable) for another guy to convert a similar building into a theatre and arts centre.
The answer, I believe, lies in how the building works to support a community over commercial gain.
The Gate does just that. By exhibiting work by local artists, holding workshops for both children and adults, hosting community events (such as clothes swaps and discussions) and welcoming some fantastic theatrical and dance productions, it has gradually gained a reputation as one of the most worthy companies in Roath.
The building’s former use does wonders to the feel of the venue too. Designed for the purposes of a single vicar speaking to the masses, the place translates well into a performance space.
With such diverse programming in such a beautiful venue, The Gate is definitely worth embracing.
URBAN CHALLENGE: Go along to one of The Gate’s free science or philosophy cafés (See their website for details)

I was really excited when I moved to the Plasnewydd area and found myself so close to The Gate. ‘Great,’ I thought, ‘there’ll be loads of opportunities for activities and classes here.’ But I’ve not been to any!
Its not a problem with the venue, but more of an issue with communication. The website doesn’t give you much to go on. You know there are classes, by term, but I couldn’t find prices or details of payment, term dates etc. I really wanted to go to Flamenco classes, but always enquired after the start of term — and when I tried a pre-​emptive strike for this term, the classes had gone. Any information I have found has been by email and I’ve generally had to ask a couple of times to get all the info I need. Too late. I popped in the other day, during the afternoon, to ask for info on classes only to find the front door locked and no one around in the main venue.
I’m really sure that The Gate is a great facility for the Plasnewydd area, and I’m sure loads of great things go on there, it is just a shame I never get to hear about it, and even when I go looking I seem to have missed all the good stuff!

I recently had to find a venue for a radio show that was to be recorded in front of a live audience so The Gate was on my list of places to check out.
It is a lovely place with a nice feel to it. The staff were very helpful and more than happy to show me around when I wanted to.
The main hall is an elegant space that I can imagine would be a great area to perform at or see a performance at. There is a full programme of events and classes happenign all year round as as a community centre it is well utilized.
Unfortuantely we didn’t book it as a venue for our show as the dates we needed it for were unavailable which was a pity. Maybe next time.

The first time I visited The Gate was to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed by the up-​and-​coming Bare Knuckle Theatre Company. The performance itself was really good and I was surprised at how well an old church had been transformed into a very nice theatre.
The audience was seated on pews which is a nice touch, although not particularly comfortable especially to sit on for an entire Shakespeare play. It was also surprisingly warm in there, which is a point to its credit when churches are usually freezing all year round. I would advise taking a cushion or at least a jumper to sit on, and buying a programme or grabbing a leaflet from the café in case it gets too hot.
The café/​bar is lovely, and has that student café look to it that you can imagine being filled with debate. They serve a nice range of drinks and put on a nice arrangement of fruit for the interval.
I would highly recommend checking this place out as it offers a whole range of things from plays and music to a variety of workshops and classes. I will be starting ballet classes here soon after having not danced since I left home for university, and I’m keen to discover whether this lives up to the good impression I already have of this fantastic arts and community centre.

The Gate is a really impressive space. Well, it’s going to be isn’t it? It used to be a church… and no one seems to so consistently inspire such grand-​scale construction as the ‘big guy upstairs’! (Even if his ministers can’t seem to meet the scale of the endeavour with a suitably sized congregation… but nothings perfect!) All it needed was a few community-​spirited people to come along and remedy the situation a little!
There’s a special place in my heart for art centers that inhabit churches, dating back a long way. In my early twenties I used to be involved with the SAC (Salisbury Art Centre) which has had a couple of million thrown at it in recent years. It inhabits a beautiful church pretty close to the centre of town.
Not only do these spaces offer great acoustics to live performers, but they are also fantastic as exhibition spaces because of the scope that they offer. Some say that The Gate is a poor relation to Chapter Arts, especially since the latter received a pretty convincing face lift, but I feel that it’s folly to compare the two. I prefer to think of it like this… Chapter is brilliant at what it does, and so is The Gate.
I love The Gate for a whole host of reasons. It allows for new initiatives to have a performance space, whether it be a local band or a community project. The Gate is really important! And five Chapter Arts wouldn’t diminish its stature in my opinion!

The big, old church sat on the corner of Keppoch Street that’s actually been converted useful, rather than left to sit around like a pretty but pointless landscape marker, it serves as the local artistic meeting point for the Roath area, serving like a smaller Chapter Arts Centre for this side of Cardiff.
With the large theatre space upstairs and the dance studio off to the side, the centre is capable of catering to all manner of performances and classes, from large scale musical and Shakespearean productions to 8 person salsa classes and anything in between.
The café is the most interesting part of the space though. With regular philosophical and scientific discussions, jazz and acoustic open mic nights, comedy quiz nights and dance classes held there, as well as some great, cheap food and drink it is an open area for people who enjoy a contemplative atmosphere with their food. Or just for those nearby students who just want a quiet, neutrally-​lit space to eat their post-​night out hangover breakfast.

Was an old church, still looks like one…
A place for actors; singers, dancers, musicians and writers to improve on their skills and fond subjects of work and a place to enjoy watching this craft take place onto its only, small stage.
The staff are friendly and very welcoming. It is a very professional place which an amazing amount of talent and creativity. There have been some really good shows there and I love it when Mal Pope a local Welsh man who is a Christian singer; who sings non-​Christian songs too and he’s a song writer often either performs here and writes and plays music in his own musicals.
His recent production was Cappuccino Girls which was brilliant and he has his own albums for each show he does too. He has also written Amazing Grace which is not related to the Christian song. But that was performed elsewhere.
I recommend you visit this place and watch a show there, for adults in particular, the tickets are often under £10 per person, and they have a restaurant that is often open in the day time during term time.
It’s situated in an old derelict church, not too far from Albany Road and Wellfield road area.

The Gate, as a community arts centre, is often dismissed as a poor relation to the contemporary professional Chapter, however I think this Roath establishment still has plenty to offer. A registered charity, The Gate aims to help their local community discover and develop new skills in the arts and thus provide an interesting programme of dance, music, theatre, visual arts and literature that is accessible to all. Their ethos is Christian but they aren’t in your face about it, and they welcome all faiths (and the faithless).
The multifunctional centre, a converted 100-​year-​old church, contains two gallery spaces, a café, the grand theatre and a dance studio. Regular events include The Dance Café which takes place fortnightly on Tuesdays (8.30pm) and is a great informal event to socialise and dance. It won’t break the bank either, with entrance a mere £2. Prefer to use your brain than your body? The Gate also hosts a Philosophy Café (3^rd Tuesday of the month) and a Science Café (1^st Tuesday of the month), both of these events are free admission too, so get along and join in the debate.

This converted church is now a modern, airy, community arts centre-​type venue holding a whole host of different events, ranging from live music and dance to visual art exhibitions. These performances and regular nights often showcase local talent, from amateur right through to professional artists, and spanning all age groups.
Although the centre’s ethos is Christian, it does welcome everyone of all faiths, or those with no faith at all! It has a large, trendy café space with comfy sofas hosting regular events such as the Dance Café on the second Tuesday of each month, when people can meet, dance to Motown and Soul, and socialise with a resident DJ and dancer on hand to keep the place moving. Then there’s funk fusion night, featuring the six piece band Miles Behind. They even hold debates on current affairs topics, regular quiz nights, open mic nights, and Science Café night when people explore topics relating to science and technology.
The venue itself is actually a bit hidden away, just behind City Road, in a Grade II listed building in Keppoch Street, so you have to hunt it down a bit to find it.

If you haven’t been to The Gate yet you probably should make an effort to get over there. Its a beautiful venue with a theatre housed in what used to be a church. Its all wooden and quite inspiring.
It also houses dance studio’s, an exhibition area and great little café. Its quite an amazing community arts centre that deserves lots of support. There’s all sorts going on, like dance classes, pilates, open mic nights, quizes and lots lots more. If your a fan of arts you should subscribe to their mailing list and if you live near by check out the café bar.

Having only really used the café area that has nightly events on most weeks. I probably cannot speak for the other aspects of this arts centre. However, I think the weekly/​monthly events that happen in the café are an asset to Cardiff. It keeps our cultural activities high and the people that go their involved. Allowing multiple abilities to perform and speak or whatnot of the actual event itself.

This converted church offers a wide range of activites from sporting programmes, to Jazz to Open Mic nights. Tucked away off City Road, its a little out of the ordinary, and welll worth a visit.
Prices are very pocket-​friendly too!

Converted church that holds music events, art exhibitions and various other entertainment. There is a chance to see a lot of local talent especially with the classical music nights and the Welsh music nights. Worth checking it out, its off the back of city road, not that easy to find if you don’t know the area.

Another converted church showcasing a variety of talents from live classical and jazz music to dance.
Great venue with nice acoustics. It’s definitely worth adding yourself to their mailing list as not everything is as well publicised as it should be.
Worth checking out if you’re in the Roath area (just off City Rd).
Good variety of snacks and refreshments

The Gate In Keppoch street Cardiff is an imposing 100 year old Presbyterian Church that has been refubrished into an arts centre. It has now a concert hall with seating for about 350 people there is also an art gallery and two dance studios In addition there is a café bar which has been called’ the best café bar in Cardiff’ On the last Tuesday of the month there is a resident jazz group. (admission £3) and there is music every Thursday from 8.0pm to 11.0pm An open night
admssion free. The last Thursday of the month is devoted to Welsh speaking musicans
There always somthing going on at The Gate
It is a good notion to be put on their Mailing list

or phone 029 2084 3344