FOUR Gwent productions have been nominated for the Wales Theatre Awards 2017.

Ballet Cymru’s Little Red Riding Hood & The Three Little Pigs, a co-production with Newport’s Riverfront, has been shortlisted for best dance production.

Eiry Thomas has been nominated for best female performance in the English language for her performance in The Glass Menagerie, also a co-production with The Riverfront.

A spokeswoman for the theatre said: “The Riverfront is over the moon to hear that two of our co-productions have been nominated for Wales Theatre Awards.

“The Riverfront is at the heart of the arts and cultural scene in Newport and we are very grateful to be able to use our skills and expertise to help Welsh companies to produce new work.

“The Riverfront has worked with both Theatr Pena and Newport-based Ballet Cymru for a number of years and helped support both companies and are so happy that both have been recognised with these awards.”

The Good Earth, a Motherlode production co-produced with RCT Theatres and in association with Blackwood Miners Institute, has been shortlisted for two awards - best director and best ensemble.

The play, directed by Rachael Boulton, is about a community pitted against big business and its own local authority.

In 1973, the villagers of Troedrhiwgwair, in Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent, were ordered to leave their homes amid fears of a landslide - but the determined villagers defied the authorities, demanding proof of the danger with which they were threatened, sparking a battle that would be fought for a generation.

Katie Arthur, sales and audience development manager from Blackwood Miners’ Institute, said: “It’s wonderful to be able to support a tour of Wales when the company is committed to working and connecting with local communities.

“It’s a privilege to be associated with the Welsh tour of The Good Earth and for Motherlode to be shortlisted for two Wales Theatre Awards is a testament to quality of the production.”

More than 280 artists have been nominated for the Wales Theatre Awards 2017. The nominations were made by 40 critics.

The winners will be announced on Saturday in Swansea’s Taliesin Arts Centre.