Montgomeryshire MP Craig Williams and the Hosue of Lords' Wales Office spokesman met Welsh comedy legend Max Boyce on a tour of the Hafren Theatre.
Mr Williams and Baroness Bloomfield toured the Newtown venue on Friday, January 27 to discuss the running of the theatre and to view the college facilities.
Baroness Bloomfield has a background in education after serving as a governor at Cheltenham Ladies' College until 2009, and after working for the Conservative party in its campaign headquarters during the 2010 election, she received a life peerage from David Cameron in 2016.
Mr Williams and Baroness Bloomfield were taken on a tour of the facilities by the theatre manager Sara Clutton, campus manager Steve Cass and deputy chief executive officer Catherine Lewis.
They then met up with the legendary Max Boyce MBE who was performing at the theatre that evening as part of his 50th anniversary tour this year.
As part of the tour the comedian and singer, 78, performed a musical version of his lockdown poem ‘When Just the Tide Went Out’ for the first time.
Baroness Bloomfield also praised the achievements of Open Newtown during her visit to the town.
Joined by Baroness Sater and Russell George, she met Open Newtown’s chief executive Stuart Owen and Mollie George, building manager of Hafan yr Afon, the town’s new riverside community and visitor centre.
“I am really impressed by what Open Newtown has achieved,” said Baroness Bloomfield, making her first visit to the town.
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“This is an example of what you can do when you get the local council on side and everybody pulls together. If you don’t get that, nothing happens.”
Mr Williams said: “It was great to bring my colleagues to Open Newtown to show them what happens when you bring the community and funding together. It was good to talk about what’s next for Newtown because the job is not done yet and Open Newtown has my full support.”
Open Newtown's Stuart Owen said it was encouraging to receive positive comments from the politicians about Open Newtown’s achievement and future plans.
“The feedback we are receiving about Hafan yr Afon and our other projects is fantastic,” he added. “People have such a great experience when they visit Newtown and they take that away with them.
“Open Newtown has even been described as ‘inspirational’ by community leaders from other parts of Wales, which is lovely to hear.”
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