Cardigan’s cultural prowess received a standing ovation this week after both its theatres were awarded over £330,000 of funding by the Arts Council of Wales.

The announcement confirmed that Mwldan is to receive £271,865 while the Small World Theatre is to receive £60,000. Both theatres battled their way through 139 organisations to be named among the 81 successful Welsh recipients.

“This is truly wonderful news for both theatres and indeed for Cardigan as a whole,” commented County Councillor Elaine Evans following the announcement.

“Their dedicated teams of staff work so hard to put on so many fantastic shows and workshops for a huge cross-section of society, and it’s wonderful that their work has been recognised in such a terrific way by the Arts Council of Wales.”

The theatres' success comes at a time when the ACW has orchestrated a major overhaul of its funding packages, which has seen several major organisations being dropped. These include the National Theatre Wales which has lost all of its £1.6m funding as well as Mid Wales Opera and the Taliesin Arts Centre.

Speaking on Radio Wales following the announcement, the Arts Council of Wales chief executive, Dafydd Rhys, said this year's application from National Theatre Wales ‘did not convince’.

"Some difficult decisions have had to be taken,” he said.

"I wish I could be more open, but we have to protect the appeals process.

"This investment review represents a very positive shift for the arts in Wales – one which will lead to new opportunities for people of all backgrounds to engage with and enjoy creativity of the highest quality. We had a record number of applications this year for our funding with 139 eligible organisations.

"The decision not to continue funding for some organisations will no doubt be much debated, which is something we welcome – however our strategic interventions will respond to any gaps created in relevant sectors as a result of our decisions."

The successful organisations will be given an initial funding term of three years with a check-in in the second year and the option to confirm a further two-year term. Public funding is made available to Arts Council of Wales by the Welsh Government, and the rest of the money is made up by the National Lottery to create a total of £29.6 million.

The funding will start in April 2024.