Former Coleg Menai student Martin leading Cwmni Da’s new drama hub

Martin Thomas, the award-winning director leading Cwmni Da’s new drama hub, says Coleg Menai gave him “the foundation” for his career success.

Martin has been appointed to lead the newly-created department at the Caernarfon-based, employee-owned TV production company.

He is tasked with ensuring high-quality drama is made in North Wales, creating and safeguarding jobs and bolstering the industry in the region.

Martin said: “It’s really important to have drama anchored in North Wales - there is so much expertise and talent here and there are gripping stories that need to be told about North Wales by the people of North Wales.”

After studying Performing Arts at Coleg Menai, Martin played ex-jailbird Eifion in popular S4C soap Rownd a Rownd, later becoming one of the show’s directors.

He has worked with Cwmni Da for a decade as a freelance director and producer - including on critically-acclaimed children’s fantasy series Deian a Loli, which won several awards including a hat-trick of BAFTA Cymru gongs.

Martin has also directed episodes of Pobol y Cwm, among a host of roles on both sides of the camera since he first appeared in a musical theatre show aged 12.

“I dived into drama with my best friend Emyr Gibson, in a show for the Eisteddfod yr Urdd called Tri Dau Un,” he said. “We both got parts in the show, and from there it was a bug that bit us.”

Martin, originally from Deiniolen, appeared in S4C drama Traed Mewn Cyffion a couple of years later, before enrolling at Coleg Menai on the BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts.

“I used to ride into Bangor on my yellow 50cc motorbike with Emyr - anything for a bit of independence,” he said. “I really enjoyed my two years at Coleg Menai. It was fun, it was creative, and our tutors gave us freedom to express ourselves within the workshops and plays we did.

“It felt like a sort of a repertory company where you have the opportunity to work different roles. You get a good sense of how a company works in regards to the different roles within a play or production.

“We did different types of productions - panto, serious plays - they touched base with quite varied formats, so you could find your strengths and weaknesses. There was theory and structure behind it too, so we were able to work out what drama, theatre, acting and performing was all about. It was a foundation for everything really.”

After finishing college in the mid-90s, Martin landed a role in S4C drama Y Parc. He then did some theatre and worked in a factory before successfully auditioning for Rownd a Rownd, going on to play Eifion for six years.

It was while acting on Rownd a Rownd that Martin began to learn from the show’s directors, with an eye on expanding his skill set for a future career.

That led him into directing and producing - and his advice to anyone looking to follow a similar path is to “never stop learning”.

“Everything moves so quickly in this industry, the onus is on you to teach yourself,” he said. “Find somewhere that will help you to grow as a creative person.

“That’s how I got into directing. I’d ask to shadow the director, and eventually I was lucky enough to be offered an episode. That went well, so I ended up getting a block of three episodes, and it went from there.

“It’s all about relationships and connections. You need rapport with the people you’re working with. My advice would be: Head down, work hard, make as many connections as possible.”

Martin recently directed two episodes of the Caernarfon-based drama series STAD, which will be shown on S4C before the end of the year, and is now immersed in his new role with Cwmni Da.

“The offer to head up the new drama hub at Cwmni Da came as a huge but very pleasant surprise,” he said.

“There is huge potential to develop something really exciting. If giants like Netflix, Amazon and HBO are coming to North Wales to film, surely we can also use these locations to make high quality drama for S4C and other broadcasters.

“It’s brilliant that Cwmni Da are showing so much positivity by investing in drama and scripted content, whether they’re short films, films, drama series, standalone dramas – the possibilities are endless.

“Drama and scripted content cover a broad spectrum – everything from children’s drama to community-driven and character-driven drama and comedy to gritty detective stories, all the way to films and so much more in between. We want to unleash our energy and creativity to do something really special.”

Martin hopes the work can benefit the next generation of actors, writers, directors and producers, saying: “You have to know there’s something within reach. London, Hollywood etc feel very big and far away.

“To create work within your area, to tell stories from within your area, with characters you can feel and recognise, is aspirational. We want a continuous wheel of excellent Welsh stories being told by excellent Welsh voices.”

Do you want to work in the performing arts industry? Grŵp Llandrillo Menai offers a range of courses, from Level 1 up to Degrees. Learn more here.