HAPPY NEW YEAR

On behalf of everyone at St David’s Hall, we hope you had a nice Christmas and once again we would like to extend our huge thanks for your continued loyal support over the last two years. As ever, we have a brilliantly diverse programme this month to fend off the January blues, and there’s much more to get excited about elsewhere throughout 2022 at the National Concert Hall of Wales. Football fans are in for a real treat as the man widely regarded as Liverpool’s greatest ever player, Kenny Dalglish (Thurs 20 Jan) speaks live in Cardiff for the first time ever. Yet, he’s just the first of several sporting legends to grace our stage in the coming months. If you prefer the oval-shaped ball, we’ve got two great shows you won’t want to miss! James Haskell and Mike Tindall join host Alex Payne for an onstage edition of the popular podcast The Good, The Bad and The Rugby (Weds 4 May). Plus, ex-England international Martin Bayfield (Fri 7 Oct) shares stories from his varied life from a Five Nations Grand Slam to the Hollywood movie screen and the MasterChef Final. Likewise, cricket icons Phil Tufnell and Jonathan Agnew provide analysis, insight and hilarious anecdotes from their careers in Test Match Special (Thurs 14 April), and UFC Hall of Fame fighter Michael Bisping (Weds 19 Oct) lets us know what it’s really like inside the Octagon. Meanwhile, Cardiff Classical continues with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, who perform six sensational concerts with us from January to June. Other highlights from the season include the Philharmonia Orchestra (Weds 9 Feb) conducted by John Wilson and London Mozart Players (Thurs 24 March) featuring virtuoso pianist, Isata Kanneh-Mason. Strictly addicts will be delighted with our dancing double-header as 2021 winner Giovanni Pernice (Sun 24 April) and fellow finalist Johannes Radebe (Mon 25 April) perform their stunning new shows on consecutive days. There are also the beloved dancing duos of Anton & Erin (Sun 13 Feb), Karen & Gorka (Sun 6 March) and Aljaž & Janette (Tues 19 April); plus there’s a stellar line-up in Here Come the Boys (Tues 5 July). If you’re up for a laugh, we’ve got that covered too. Nina Conti (Sun 16 Jan) is back with her sidekick Monkey, and also returning are stand-up superstars Omid Djalili (Sat 30 April), Dylan Moran (Tues 3 May), Sandi Toksvig (Mon 16 May) and Paul Merton (Tues 24 May). No Such Thing as a Fish (Sat 22 Jan) is stuffed to the gills with fascinating funny facts, while The Guilty Feminist (Sat 4 June) is equal parts comedy, deep-dive conversation and activism. There’s also a healthy helping of rock and pop with huge names like Echo & The Bunnymen (Sat 5 Feb), Tony Hadley (Weds 9 March), Adam Ant (Weds 16 March), Heather Small (Fri 25 March), The Divine Comedy (Thurs 12 May) and Dexys (Thurs 29 Sept) to name just a few. Finally, we haven’t forgotten about the kids, who will love half-term family fun with Fireman Sam Saves the Circus (Mon 21 Feb) as well as Zog and the Flying Doctors (Mon 11 -12 April) at Easter!