DYLAN THOMAS CENTRE
PROGRAMME January – April 2011
WELCOME...
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Full Price Concessions Passport to Leisure Book Launch
We’re delighted to launch Bloodaxe’s new anthology, Being Human, with Neil Astley and Penelope Shuttle. In the words of Meryl Streep, “I love Staying Alive and keep going back to it. Being Alive is just as vivid. But this new book feels even more alive. I think it has a heartbeat.” We celebrate Haiku from Wales, and welcome Madrid’s Landén Theatre Company; poets from Swansea and Cork perform together, and we launch a fabulous new book of poetry with help from our Young Writers Squad. We also commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Three Nights Blitz with a production of Dylan Thomas’ Return Journey. Join us for an exciting few months. Jo Furber Literature Officer
BOX OFFICE: 01792 463980 JANUARY - APRIL 2011
ADAM O’RIORDAN
GERRY MURPHY
JANUARY & FEBRUARY EVENTS Wednesday 26 January / 7.30pm
Thursday 3 February / 7.30pm
SCIENCE CAFÉ
GERRY MURPHY AND DAVE HUGHES
An opportunity to find out more about new, exciting and topical areas of science. www.sciencecafewales.org TICKETS: FREE Thursday 27 January / 7.30pm POETS IN THE BOOKSHOP WITH
ADAM O’RIORDAN Adam O’Riordan’s In the Flesh was published by Chatto in 2010. His pamphlet, Queen of the Cotton Cities, won an Eric Gregory award, while Home was a Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice. Includes open mic session; audience members may read a poem in English or Welsh. TICKETS: F £4 C £2.80 PTL £1.60 www.dylanthomas.com
Join us for the welcome return of the Swansea-Cork Exchange, as Swansea’s Dave Hughes reads alongside acclaimed Cork poet, Gerry Murphy, who launches his latest collection, My Flirtation with International Socialism. A champion swimmer as well as a writer, Gerry’s work is influenced by South American and Eastern European poets, and by the structures and techniques of Jazz. An eloquent writer and a fine reader of his work, Dave Hughes’ collections include Tidy Boy, and, every day, thousands read his words, “ambition is critical”, outside Swansea Train Station. TICKETS: F £4 C £2.80 PTL £1.60 3
Friday 18 – Sunday 20 February
LATIN AMERICAN FESTIVAL ARTHUR MILLER
EMLYN WILLIAMS
FEBRUARY EVENTS Saturday 12 February / 1pm LUNCHTIME THEATRE: fluellen THEATRE CO PRESENT
I CAN’T REMEMBER ANYTHING BY ARTHUR MILLER
Wednesday 16 February /7.30pm
NIGHT MUST FALL BY EMLYN WILLIAMS
Wales’ best known play from its first internationally acclaimed Leonora, a wealthy New England celebrity writer and actor. widow, is disillusioned that TICKETS: F £5 civilisation is still mired in brutality. This superb play from one of the greatest American playwrights questions the importance, or otherwise, of memory.
Annual arts festival featuring music, poetry, drama, workshops and film for all the family. The festival includes Fermín Cabal’s play, Tejas Verdes, based on events following the bloody military overthrow of Chile’s government. The play is performed by Madrid-based Landén Theatre Company. Please visit www.dylanthomas.com for the full programme.
A LAS Swansea Latin American Association
A script-in-hand performance preceded by a talk about the writer. TICKETS: 4
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£5 JANUARY - APRIL 2011
SWANSEA AT WAR
JOHN HAYNES
Mon 21 February / 7.30pm & Sat 26 February / 1pm TOUR DE FORCE THEATRE PRESENT
SWANSEA AT WAR To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Three Nights Blitz on Swansea, Tour de Force present a double bill of radio plays, old and new. The Goat Street Runners is a tribute to the tireless work of the defenders of Swansea on those terrible nights, and throughout the war, seen through the eyes of a family living in the soon to be destroyed Goat Street, the street that time forgot. Return Journey is Dylan Thomas’ masterpiece based around the return to his home town following the bombing. It’s at once touching and tragic, funny and frivolous. Both will be presented in the style of live radio plays. TICKETS:
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£6
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www.dylanthomas.com
£4.20
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£2.80
Wednesday 23 February / 7.30pm
SCIENCE CAFÉ An opportunity to find out more about new, exciting and topical areas of science. TICKETS: FREE ENTRY Thursday 24 February / 7.30pm POETS IN THE BOOKSHOP
JOHN HAYNES John Haynes won the Costa Award in 2006 for Letter to Patience (Seren). His latest volume, You, is about cross-cultural marriage, and was shortlisted for the 2010 T.S. Eliot Prize. “A marvellous book”, says George Szirtes of Letter to Patience. Includes open mic. TICKETS: F £4 C £2.80 PTL £1.60 5
MARTYN WILLIAMS
MARCH EVENTS Thursday 3 March/ 7pm
Saturday 5 March/ 2pm
WORLD BOOK DAY EVENT
A CHILD’S BOOK OF POEMS ALL THROUGH THE YEAR
We celebrate the launch of this year’s Quick Reads titles, including books by John Hartson, Martyn Williams, Mefin Davies, Jamie Baulch and Alison Stokes, with readings from Jamie Baulch and very special guests. TICKETS: FREE ENTRY
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JAMIE BAULCH
“Read a poem every day”, says Gillian Clarke in this unique calendar. Phil Carradice, Frances Thomas and Chris Kinsey read alongside members from Swansea’s Young Writers Squad, who’ll share work produced in their regular meetings at the Centre. A magical event to delight adults and children alike. TICKETS: FREE ENTRY in association with Gomer Press JANUARY - APRIL 2011
DAVID PRINCE
PENELOPE SHUTTLE
NEIL ASTLEY
Wednesday 9 March / 7.30pm
NINE SUITCASES BY BÉLA ZSOLT
Translated by Ladislaus Lo˝b. Adapted and performed by David Prince. Hungarian-Jewish writer Béla Zsolt was urbane, bohemian, witty; an anti-establishment radical labelled ‘decadent’ by enemies, he’s the play’s protagonist in minimally fictionalised form. TICKETS: F £4 Friday 11 March / 7.30pm
BEING HUMAN LAUNCH WITH NEIL ASTLEY & PENELOPE SHUTTLE
See page 8 for full details.
Saturday 12 March / 10am PENELOPE SHUTTLE WORKSHOP
‘TIME: CALENDARS & CLOCKS, ETC’ Poets have always been fascinated by time. There is poetry in the almost magical symmetry of the twelve months of the year, as there is in the thirteen phases of the moon in one year, in eclipses, constellations and comets. And moving from the outer world to the inner world, we often find a rich source of poetry in considering birthdays and anniversaries, and exploring memory. In this workshop we'll be close-reading poems on the theme and then writing poems on the ways in which time frames and modulates our experience. TICKETS:
www.dylanthomas.com
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£15 7
PRICE IN CLUDES
£1
Friday 11 March / 7.30pm
BEING HUMAN LAUNCH WITH NEIL ASTLEY & PENELOPE SHUTTLE
BEING HUOFF SANDGRMAN OR HOURGLAAIN & SS PURCHA SE THE NIGHD ON T
Bloodaxe editor Neil Astley presents his new anthology Being Human, the companion to Staying Alive and Being Alive, and shares readings from the book with Penelope Shuttle.
Being Human offers hundreds of thoughtful and passionate poems about living in the modern world; poems that touch the heart, stir the mind and fire the spirit. Penelope Shuttle will also read from her new collection, Sandgrain and Hourglass (Bloodaxe), which charts her continuing experience of loss. As Ted Hughes said, ‘poetry is a way of speaking to people we’ve lost when it is too late’. In these poems – as in her book, Redgrove’s Wife – Shuttle continues such conversations with her husband Peter Redgrove, among others. TICKETS: 8
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£7
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£4.90
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£2.80 JANUARY - APRIL 2011
NOEL COWARD DARIO FO
STILL LIFE
Saturday 12 March / 1pm LUNCHTIME THEATRE: fluellen THEATRE CO PRESENT
Wednesday 16 March / 7.30pm
A WOMAN ALONE BY DARIO FO
To celebrate 100 years of International Women’s Day, Fluellen present a great feminist play from Italy’s finest living playwright. A Woman Alone is a black comedy about a housewife held prisoner in her own home. All Lunchtime Theatre plays are presented scriptin-hand and preceded by a talk about the writer’s life and work. TICKETS: F £5 www.dylanthomas.com
BRIEF ENCOUNTERS Tour de Force present Noel Coward’s Mild Oats, and his timeless classic, Still Life, the play on which Brief Encounter is based. Sonia Beck, Llinos Daniel and Adrian Metcalfe star. This production “oozes excellence and by the end of the show we are utterly transfixed” - Theatre Wales. The performance takes place in the bookshop-café, so please book ahead. TICKETS: F £7 C £5 Ticket includes tea and a scone. 9
Friday 18 March / 7pm BOOKLAUNCH:
ANOTHER COUNTRY: HAIKU POETRY FROM WALES The launch of Another Country, the first ever Welsh national anthology of haiku poetry. Published by Gomer Press and edited by Nigel Jenkins, Ken Jones and Lynne Rees, it features haiku, tanka, haibun and somonka – in both English and Welsh – by forty poets, from Wales’s haiku pioneers such as Chris Torrance, Tony Conran, Peter Finch, Caroline Gourlay, Arwyn Evans, Matt Morden and John Rowlands, to an exciting younger generation, among them Sarah Coles, Alan Kellermann, Eloise Williams, Rhys Owain Williams and Stephen White. There will be readings, with music, before and after, from pianist and haiku poet Marion Carlisle. TICKETS: FREE ENTRY AND WINE in association with Gomer. 10
Saturday 19 March
HAIKU WORKSHOPS Workshop 1, 10am to 12.30pm: Read haiku/write haiku with Ken Jones Friendly discussion of haiku, practical advice on writing, and the opportunity to share your work within a supportive group. Ken Jones is the recipient of the Sasakawa Prize for Original Contributions in the Field of Haikai. He has published four volumes of haiku and haibun and co-edits the annual Contemporary Haibun anthologies published by Red Moon Press (USA). www.redthreadhaiku.org TICKETS: F £12 C £10 Includes entry to evening event. Workshop 2, 2pm to 5pm: Walk haiku/write haiku with Lynne Rees A traditional ‘ginko’, a guided walk around the city with ‘prompts’ to write your own haiku. Inspiration provided – just bring notebook and pen! Lynne Rees is a poet, novelist and tutor. The recipient of University of Kent’s Award for innovative and imaginative practices in teaching poetry, she’s a judge for the inaugural British Haiku Award in 2011. www.lynnerees.com TICKETS: F £12 C £10 Includes entry to evening event. Special Offer: Attend both workshops for F £20 C £16 JANUARY - APRIL 2011
JOHN MCGAHERN
PETER STACEY
HILARY MENOS
MARCH & APRIL EVENTS Saturday 19 March / 7.30pm MUSIC/HAIKU: POEMS AND PERFORMANCE FROM
PETER STACEY AND FRIENDS A celebration, in words and music, of haiku poetry, featuring some of Wales’s leading haiku poets with extemporising musicians, including the renowned flautist and saxophonist Peter Stacey. We’ll also showcase some of the poetry from the day’s activities. TICKETS: F £5 C £3.50 PTL £2 www.dylanthomas.com
Wednesday 30 March / 7.30pm
SCIENCE CAFÉ TICKETS: FREE Thursday 31 March / 7.30pm POETS IN THE BOOKSHOP
HILARY MENOS Hilary Menos won the Forward Poetry Prize for Best First Collection with Berg (Seren, 2009), and the Templar Poetry Prize for her pamphlet, Wheelbarrow Farm. Includes an open mic session. TICKETS:
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£4 C £2.80 £1.60
Friday 8 & Saturday 9 April A CONFERENCE ON THE WORK OF:
JOHN MCGAHERN This, the first significant academic conference to be held on McGahern’s work in the UK, has attracted leading international scholars. It will appeal to anyone interested in Irish literature or contemporary fiction. McGahern’s novels and short stories are deeply admired: the Irish president, Mary MacAleese, said that McGahern had made “an immense contribution to [Ireland’s] self-understanding as a nation”. For more information email: r.p.robinson@swansea.ac.uk 11
ANTON CHEKHOV
TERRY VICTOR
BERNARD MCLAVERTY
APRIL EVENTS Friday 8 April / 7.30pm
BERNARD MCLAVERTY The author of 5 collections of short stories and 4 novels, including the Booker shortlisted Grace Notes, Irish-born Bernard McLaverty has also adapted his work for radio, TV and film. He’ll read from Matters of Life and Death, a highly praised collection inviting comparisons with Chekhov, Joyce and Greene, in this special event organised in conjunction with Swansea University. TICKETS:
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£6 C £4.20 £2.80
Saturday 16 April / 1pm LUNCHTIME THEATRE: fluellen THEATRE CO PRESENT
THE PROPOSAL BY ANTON CHEKHOV
A wonderful comedy from the great Russian playwright, it slyly satirises marriages of convenience with sharp insight. A script-in-hand performance preceded by a talk about the writer. TICKETS:
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£5
Wednesday 27 April / 7.30pm
THE PERPLEXING PUZZLE OF THE PEDIGREE PET AND THE POLICEMAN BY TERRY VICTOR
The acclaimed Caerwent-based writer offers a new perspective on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. TICKETS:
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Wednesday 27 April / 7.30pm
BEER & HEALTH: 7000 YEARS OF HISTORY WITH DAVID WILLIAMS, EMERITUS PROFESSOR, CARDIFF UNIVERSITY TICKETS: FREE ENTRY JANUARY - APRIL 2011
EXHIBITIONS Until 16 January
‘FOR GARDEN AND EXHIBITION’
SAMANTHA WYNNE RHYDDERCH
JACKIE CHETTUR
Thursday 28 April / 7.30pm POETS IN THE BOOKSHOP
SAMANTHA WYNNE RHYDDERCH Samantha’s published two collections, the second of which, Not In These Shoes (Picador, 2008) was short-listed for Wales Book of the Year 2009. “When she sings out loud and clear, we not only look at her poems in all their high-heeled finery, their deft crafting and vivid imagery, we listen to what they have to say”, writes Susan Utting in The North. Includes open mic. TICKETS:
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£4 C £2.80 £1.60
www.dylanthomas.com
1 March – 12 April
‘BREAD AND ROSES’ WOMENCENTRESTAGE An exhibition of contemporary art by women from Swansea and south Wales. The title of the exhibition celebrates the centenary of International Women's Day, and is taken from an old song called ‘Bread and Roses’, which argues that life is about beauty not just survival. 13
EXHIBITIONS 18 January – 27 February
‘LIKENESSES’ JUDITH ARONSON Husbands and wives, actors and directors, a setdesigner and crew, a poet in his landscape, a professor among his books: here are vivid and touching evocations of many notable writers, artists, theatre people, and educators, and their worlds. The photographs, taken over 30 years in England and America, vividly capture the cultural life of the age. EL LE
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DYLAN THOMAS CENTRE
SOMERSET PLACE, SWANSEA SA1 1RR 01792 463980 www.dylanthomas.com dylanthomas.lit@swansea.gov.uk
Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the details of this programme are accurate, the City & County of Swansea reserve the right to alter any part of the programme without notice.
CYNGOR LLYFRAU CYMRU WELSH BOOKS COUNCIL
JANUARY - APRIL 2011