Hello all,

I'm a Welsh actress and voice over artist and have been living in London for the past 7 years. I'm considering moving to Cardiff, and am seeking pros and cons.

Compared to London are there currently more opportunities in Cardiff?

Any advice or info would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Emily

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Hi Emily

I lived in London for four years before moving to Cardiff. Ive been here 3 years now (though I'm actually from Northampton originally - I moved to Cardiff because my fiance is welsh and has a steady job here).

There are pros and cons for both areas. My experience was that probably 8 out of 10 jobs I got while living in london weren't actually IN london, so I was having to rent my room out while getting digs in other areas of the country. This still applies in Cardiff - but in that regard it really doesn't matter where you're based, you'll always have to travel to where your next job is. The auditions were all in London - but I have no problems getting the train from Cardiff to London for auditions. I do have a relative I can stay with overnight in London, which is massively helpful, and I've also stayed there while doing acting jobs in london that have lasted a month or two. If there is no-one you can stay with for short periods in London then you might find it tricky. 

The cost of living in Cardiff is much lower, which equals less time having to do fill-in jobs to pay rent, which means more time to put into finding your next acting job. Also, the biggest thing is that there's a HELL of a lot less competition for acting jobs in Cardiff. There are still a lot of amazing trained actors, but nowhere near the volume that are in London. Plus all the National Theatre Wales castings specify that you can only apply if you are welsh, trained in Wales or have a strong connection to Wales, which rules out a lot of competition. (Of course, there's nothing to stop you applying for these castings while still living in london, because you're Welsh.) If you are welsh-speaking, even better - this is quite often specified as desirable on casting breakdowns. 

To sum up, there's a fantastic creative community in Cardiff - helped along by National Theatre Wales and the BBC as well as many smaller organisations. My experience so far has been extremely positive. It's a smaller pond and I feel much more creatively nurtured here somehow - less overwhelmed. And if you're still willing to travel around the country as jobs dictate, then it really doesn't matter where you're based.

Hope this is helpful - let me know if any questions! : )

Ps. to directly answer your question - I would say there are definitely less castings in Cardiff than in London, but your chances of actually being cast are higher.

Hi Isabelle,

Thank you for your reply, what you mentioned was kind of the reasons I was thinking of moving. I have always found work for myself in London, but am never seen for any big castings for TV or theatre when submitted by my agent, and am always told it's because I'm Welsh or that I'm not fluent in Welsh. It just really doesn't seem to be happening for me here!

I understand what you mean about traveling for work, I have a couple of auditions coming up that are in Cardiff so I am going to have to travel anyway.

I'm glad to hear your experience has been positive, and there are opportunities there. I think I have become settled a bit, and taking that leap of faith is a bit scary!
Hi Isabelle - I read your comment to Emily with great interest as this is something that I have also been wondering. Obviously there is Spotkight and CCP for acting jobs in general, but do you use anything else in particular for acting work in Wales/Cardiff? I don't see all that much coming in via Spotlight and CCP for general opportunities, so was just wondering if you use anything else?

Thanks

Emma

Hi Emma,

I'd say my biggest source of jobs for the past couple of years has been CCP and Singers Pro, although I have has to travel for a fair few of them. I assume you've got your CCP filter set up to alert you to jobs outside of london, so that you do actually see the south wales castings? 

Another good source is the Actors group on this website, which I'm guessing you already get alerts from?

Other than that it's pretty much just keeping my ear to the ground, going to NTW events, various film networking events, meeting people. A great thing here is that I feel like I know, or at least know of, the majority of theatre and film up-and-commers in the area. I don't think that would be possible in London! So there's more opportunity for building a good reputation and working with people who know you.

Hope that helps.

Isabelle

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