Ystradgynlais will welcome a unique performance exploring fatherhood across generations and cultures when Altered Skin’s Fatherhood comes to The Welfare on Friday, October 3.

Part of a partnership between Creu Cymru and the Rural Dance Touring Initiative, the show will have its only performance in Wales in the Swansea Valley town.

Fatherhood is a highly physical and humorous exploration of being a father in the 21st century, drawing on the experiences of creator and performer Shane Shambhu. Born into a Keralan, Turkish, and Austrian family, Shambhu blends his own experiences with stories from other fathers navigating life in a changing world.

The production follows three fathers: a British Keralan father raising a young boy in a multilingual family, a deaf father who relocates his family from Singapore, and a professional father balancing work, grief, and unfamiliar cultural rites.

Shane Shambhu said: “When I became a dad, the focus of my life completely shifted. I had to embrace a new identity with a different outlook and priorities from my former self. I found myself reflecting on my relationship with my own dad, and how being a father and our approaches to fathering were in some respects completely different, but in others, exactly the same.”

Birmingham-based Altered Skin blends physical theatre with Bharatanatyam, using movement and multilingual text to create a distinctive, accessible performance. Fatherhood features Turkish, German, Tamil, Malayalam, and British Sign Language, with captions and sound design reflecting the Deaf character’s experience

For the performance at The Welfare, BSL interpreter Adrian Blake will be present to welcome deaf audience members. A free post-show event, including a Q&A and quiz with food, will follow the performance.

Tickets are available from www.thewelfare.co.uk or the box office on 01639 843163. Prices are on a pay-what-you-choose basis, ranging from £10 to £20.