LOOK up at the hill overlooking Mold and you might get a shock over the next few weeks. There nestling next to Theatr Clwyd is a large, yellow blob resembling the sort of thing you might see in the latest summer blockbusting science fiction film.

It is in fact a mobile theatre known as ‘Roundabout’ - a flat pack auditorium designed to bring theatre to the many places across the country starved of theatrical venues.

Packed into the back of a lorry it pops up all over the country. You might find it in a churchyard in Eccles, a bowling green in Kendal, on Margate seafront, by a lake in Poole Park, or on Marsh Farm estate in Luton. So what is it doing in Mold?

“From the inside it always reminds me of the Tardis,” laughs director Stef O’Driscoll, who is at the helm for the three plays which will feature at Roundabout in the coming weeks.

“It’s a pop up theatre with 168 seats in the round and it creates a space that enables us to take the best new writing to areas which wouldn’t normally get it.”

Roundabout can be put up in a day by six people and does not require any specialist tools or skills to assemble.

According to Stef the only tool required is an Allen key and because the roof is hand winched, there is no working at height.

The roof weighs approximately two-and-a-half tonnes and the auditorium weighs between three and four tonnes, and took theatre company Paines Plough four years of inventing, designing, fundraising and testing to get from initial idea to launch in 2014.

“What we are really relying on is the art of storytelling,” continues Steph. “It’s about the actors’ physicality - we don’t really have a set and it’s a very intimate space in the round.

“The actors can see the audience and they are a big part of the experience. We wanted to create a communal experience with no bells and whistles, apart from the lighting - it’s an incredible place to work in.

“One of the actors was saying that it really does something to their performance: it makes them become a better actor because there’s nowhere to hide.”

At Theatr Clwyd, Roundabout will stage three world premières, which are all Theatr Clwyd and Paines Plough co-productions, from playwrights Georgia Christou, Vinay Patel and Simon Longman.

Audiences will be treated to a side-splitting satire, a new play about friendship, hope and trying to make an escape and a rip-roaring adventure for young space cadets.

“We are creating three completely different worlds with something for everyone,” says Stef. “How To Spot An Alien is about two kids in a rip-roaring adventure through space full of friendship, fun and flying saucers. It’s a bit Roald Dahl with a sinister undertow.

“If we can engage children at a young age it’s brilliant - drama is hugely underestimated in our educational system and getting children to interact with our stories can only be beneficial on loads of levels.

“Island Town is a bittersweet story about friendship, hope and dreams of an escape and Sticks and Stones is an incisive satire on the modern condition - it’s a bit of an office-set farce that looks at language.

“We are excited to see how people from here connect with the plays - to develop and engage new audiences we need to take stories to people in their communities on their doorsteps.

“I am hyped to be working with such an incredible team, including some of the nation’s greatest playwrights. The plays are joyous, funny and heart breaking. I can’t wait to share these beautiful stories and see how audiences around the UK vibe with them.

“Seeing how each new audience in each different town relates to what we do is the most exciting thing. These shows are made for people in rural areas.”

For Theatr Clwyd’s audience this year has already seen plays being performed in disused pubs and a musical about Katie Hopkins, so a month of plays being performed in a huge yellow tent is really nothing shocking and Mold’s creative spirit is certainly proving an inspiration for Stef.

“Having The Assassination of Katie Hopkins was a really exciting and bold choice,” she adds. “Everyone is fully aware of Theatr Clwyd’s programme and what we’re doing with Roundabout fits in with that. It feels like the right place for us.”

Roundabout is at Theatr Clwyd between Saturday June 2 – Monday June 25, 2018. Theatr Clwyd box office 01352 701521 - online booking www.theatrclwyd.com - Twitter: @clwydtweets - Facebook, TheatrClwyd