Theatr Ardudwy: 'Fraudulent' theatre producer 'misled' community
- Published
Kallum O'Sullivan told BBC Wales in June he was hoping to reopen Theatr Ardudwy in August
A young theatre producer who promised to spend £500,000 reinventing a venue has been labelled "fraudulent" and a "charlatan".
Kallum O'Sullivan, 22, of KMD Productions, claimed he reopened Theatr Ardudwy, in Harlech, Gwynedd, as a "professional" theatre.
A BBC Wales Newyddion S4C investigation found multiple public statements by Mr O'Sullivan to be false.
Mr O'Sullivan has been asked to respond.
In a Facebook post this week, a man called Tony Stringfellow said Theatr Ardudwy had now cut ties with Mr O'Sullivan.
He said no shows had been arranged but initial work had begun to allow the buildings to be re-used in the future.
KMD productions had advertised numerous productions to be held at the Harlech venue.
On its Instagram account, the company also advertised performances in theatres across Wales and England, including a production of The Snow Queen at the Dublin Pavilion Theatre later this year.
One of the theatre's directors, Hugh Murray, said it had no such performance booked "and we don't have a clue who they are".
'One of the biggest crooks of his generation'
Theatr Ardudwy has been closed since 2017 due to safety concerns
Aspiring actor Aaron Barker, 24, from Liverpool, responded to a Facebook advert by KMD Productions to play Buttons in Cinderella at Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, this Christmas.
He said he was excited by the thought of his first acting role since graduating last year but soon had reservations about the company.
Mr O'Sullivan "promised the world to so many people including myself", he said, adding the shows he had booked him for were "non-existent".
"I think it's safe for me to say from my experience with Mr O'Sullivan, he is fraudulent, he's a charlatan and he's one of the biggest crooks of his generation as far as theatre is concerned," Mr Barker said.
'Would have hit us hard'
Rhyl Little Theatre confirmed it had been in discussions about bringing a KMD pantomime produced to its venue this Christmas, but Mr O'Sullivan suddenly stopped replying and no contract was signed.
The theatre's director and co-manager, Arlena Thornton, said actors were contacting the venue to say they had signed contracts.
"If we had not acted fast and got another producer involved, it would have hit us hard," she said.
Tickets for KMD productions were also being sold through the widely used Eventbrite website.
The ticket seller told BBC Wales it had locked the account and removed all related events from the platform to prevent any further ticket sales.
"Our review process, which is almost complete, includes refunding orders placed through listings determined to be unauthorised where the payment for the order was placed directly through Eventbrite," an Eventbrite spokesperson said.
In addition, Mr O'Sullivan claimed the Arts Council of Wales and The National Lottery had granted him money, but both said this was not true.
All this comes as a GoFundMe page raises funds for Mr O'Sullivan to get treatment for stage 2 anal cancer. The site states he is currently on a six-month NHS waiting list.
The campaign has so far reached £171 of its £10,000 target.
'Stack of lies'
Councillor Gwynfor Owen says he is "angry" at Mr O'Sullivan
Councillor Gwynfor Owen said he feels sorry for all those who have been misled by Mr O'Sullivan.
He added: "I also feel angry towards Kallum for what he's done to the local community, through raising the hopes of a community that work would happen on the theatre and things would get under way soon. But it's turned out to be a stack of lies."
When asked about the allegations, Mr O'Sullivan, who also uses the name Kallum Douglas, said his solicitor would respond.
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