Scotland may have the Year of Homecoming but special things are also happening in Wales this year to mark the centenary of arguably the region’s greatest poet, Dylan Thomas.
Foremost amongst these is Under Milk Wood directed by Terry Hands and designed by Martyn Bainbridge.
Originally a radio play by Thomas broadcast by the BBC in 1954, Under Milk Wood is presented by the largest and most productive theatre in Wales, Clwyd Theatr Cymru; it opens in February ahead of a tour of Wales and then England and further afield including north America.
The company of thirteen is led by Owen Teale who is to play First Voice in this exploration of the lives and hopes of those who live in Llareggub, a small Welsh town by the sea.
Tony Award-winning Teale has previously been seen at Clwyd Theatr Cymru as Macbeth, Adam in The Four Seasons by Arnold Wesker and Burleigh in Mary Stuart. Recent credits include playing alongside Zoë Wanamaker in Passion Play by Peter Nichols in London’s West End.
Other members of the ensemble company are Christian Patterson (Aristocrats, Glengarry Glen Ross, As You Like It), Steven Meo (The Taming of the Shrew), Kai Owen (The Winslow Boy, Aristocrats) and Ifan Huw Dafydd (The Taming of the Shrew, Arden of Faversham), Brendan Charleson, Richard Elfyn, Katie Elin-Salt, Charlotte Gray, Sara Harris-Davies, Sophie Melville, Caryl Morgan and Simon Nehan.
Under Milk Wood plays Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, Anthony Hopkins Theatre from 6 February to 8 March. The Welsh tour covers:
- New Theatre, Cardiff - 11 to 15 March
- Swansea Grand Theatre - 18 to 22 March
- The Riverfront, Newport 26 to 29 March
- Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon - 2 to 5 April
- Canolfan Y Celfyddydau Aberystwyth Arts Centre - 10 to 12 April
- The Hafren, Newtown - 15 to 17 April
Clwyd Theatr Cymru goes on to present Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Dog: A Theatrical Journey through the prose writings of Dylan Thomas, Arms And The Man by Bernard Shaw and with Paines Plough and Sherman Cymru Not The Worst Place, a play by Sam Burns about the place we call home.
These productions are presented as part of the Clwyd Theatr Cymru Celtic Festival:
- Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Dog - 3 to 19 April
- Not The Worst Place - 23 April –to 3 May
- Arms And The Man - 1 to 24 May
For further information and booking visit the Clwyd Theatr web site.
Meanwhile, on the coast in Rhyl, The Pavilion Theatre is playing host to a wide range of visiting performances.
Theatre events include the 50 Shades of Grey send-up written by Leesa Harker, 51 Shades of Maggie, a story of a working class girl's adventure with love, booze and whips. It stars Danielle Malone whose television credits include Hollyoaks and Bodies.
Set for a Valentine's Day outing is one of the several musical offerings at the venue: David Gest's Legends Of Soul Live Concert featuring the singing talents of The Temptations' Dennis Edwards, Candi Staton, Percy Sledge and The Three Degrees' Sheila Ferguson, amongst others.
The all-star line-up is on a tour of more than 30 venues with Gest, (who has appeared on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! and has hosted Grease Is The Word and Greased Lightnin on UK television) and Candi Staton (whose hits include "Young Hearts Run Free" and "Nights On Broadway") talent–spotting for a singer to record a new duet with Staton.
Rock 'n' Roller Marty Wilde and the Wildcats, bands Mike & The Mechanics and The Straits featuring Dire Straits sax player Chris White and keyboard player Alan Clark, and Take That tribute band Re-Take That also feature in the programme.
For those who prefer something more classical, Nigel Kennedy performs in a concert featuring his own compositions as well as works from composers who have influenced his career, Strictly Come Dancing’s Brendan Cole leads a cast of 20 musicians and dancers in Licence To Thrill and for younger audiences stars of CBeebies Show Me Show Me bring the Chris & Pui Roadshow to Rhyl.
For the full programme and booking visit the Rhyl Pavilion web site.
“Down south” there is a different take on Under Milk Wood at The Taliesin Arts Centre Swansea in April.
Wales’s leading opera composer, John Metcalf, provides a groundbreaking new work Under Milk Wood: An Opera using contemporary and ancient instrumental music, and recorded and live sound. This production is having its première at Taliesin Arts Centre, then touring Wales including visiting the Sherman Cymru; it forms part of the Dylan Thomas 100 Festival.
Other theatre performances at the Arts Centre include George Orwell's classic satire Animal Farm adapted and performed by Guy Masterson which is on a UK tour.
For further information and booking visit The Taliesin Arts Centre web site.
Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea and the Swansea Grand Theatre is hosting a number of events during the year.
Clown in the Moon, a one–man show written by Gwynne Edwards and performed by Rhodri Miles, is set in a BBC studio and covers some of the poets most famous broadcasts and clownish antics; A Child's Christmas in Wales presented by Michael Bogdanov is on in the autumn and Terry Hands's production of Under Milk Wood also plays the Swansea Grand as part of its tour.
South and west in Cardiff, Dafydd James’s new play Heritage is a Welsh language co-production between Sherman Cymru and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama’s Richard Burton Theatre Company. It forms part of the National Theatre Connections Festival, a nationwide annual initiative in which the National Theatre invites ten writers to create new plays for performance by young people; this is the only Connections event in Wales.
Dafydd James whose writing credits include My Name is Sue, Sue The Second Coming and Llwyth has also penned dark comedy Fe Ddaw’r Byd I Ben (The World Will End) which opens next month, and February also offers a second chance to see Theatr Genedlaethol Cymu’s production of Blodeuwedd, Saunders Lewis’s interpretation of the old Welsh folk tale. This tour also visits Rhyl.
Other highlights of the Sherman new season include Canoe Theatre’s production of Blue / Orange, Tim Crouch’s I, Peaseblossom / I, Caliban performed by Cardiff-based actor Jimmy Whiteaker and Filter Theatre’s touring new take on Twelfth Night.
For younger audiences, there is Unicorn Theatre’s Not Now Bernard for the over twos, and a site specific production of Maudie’s Rooms at Bute Street near Mermaid Quay. For the over sevens.
- Blue / Orange – 21 to 23 January suitable for ages 14+
- Fe Ddaw’r Byd I Ben (The World Will End) - 11 to 15 February suitable for ages 14+
- Blodeuwedd - 19 to 20 February
- I, Peaseblossom / I, Caliban – 4 to 7 March
- Heritage - 28 to 29 March
- Under Milk Wood: An Opera, Taliesin Arts Centre - 11 to 12 April
- Maudie’s Rooms – 11 to 26 April suitable for ages 7+
- Not Now Bernard – 15 to 19 April suitable for ages 2+
Sherman Theatre also offers a programme of contemporary and classical dance and music, opera and comedy. For the full programme of events and booking information visit the Sherman Theatre web site.