Dylan Thomas Programme

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DYLAN THOMAS CENTRE

PROGRAMME JANUARY - APRIL 2012

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WELCOME There’s a story that Dylan Thomas’ father recited Shakespeare to his young son before he could speak. It is now estimated that Dylan is the second most quoted writer after Shakespeare, so it’s fitting that in April we launch a new annual celebration of the Bard of Avon with a performance of Fluellen’s Happy Birthday, Mr Shakespeare.

Elsewhere, we’re proud to launch the debut collection from Swansea’s Sarah Coles, a graduate of Swansea University’s highly successful MA in Creative Writing programme, and Jon Gower’s wide-ranging new book of short stories.

Jo Furber, Literature Officer F C PTL

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Full Price Concessions Passport to Leisure

BOX OFFICE:  01792 463980 Online booking is available: please visit www.ticketsource.co.uk/dylanthomas JANUARY - APRIL 2012

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DERYN REES-JONES

Wednesday, 18 January, 7.30pm

THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP AND DREAMING Professor Mark Blagrove, Swansea University.

TICKETS: Free entry Thursday, 26 January, 7.30pm POETS IN THE BOOKSHOP: DERYN REES-JONES Deryn Rees-Jones is the author of Consorting with Angels, a book that charts the development of twentieth-century women’s poetry, and is editor of the accompanying anthology Modern Women Poets. Her fourth collection of poems, Burying the Wren, is forthcoming from Seren. Plus open mic.

TICKETS: F £4 C £2.80 PTL £1.60

www.dylanthomas.com

Saturday, 4 February, 7.30pm

DELYTH JENKINS LAUNCHES LLAIS Delyth Jenkins, a leading exponent of the Celtic harp, launches her new solo album, Llais.

Following a solo performance, Delyth will be joined by actors from Fluellen Theatre Company to celebrate their longstanding connection. Llais features original music that Delyth wrote for Fluellen productions, including Under Milk Wood, Doctor and the Devils and Cymbeline, as well as her interpretations of traditional Welsh melodies.

TICKETS: Free entry and wine 3

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HAROLD PINTER

SARAH COLES

TOM STOPPARD

Wednesday, 15 February, 7.30pm

Thursday, 23 February, 7.30pm

ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD BY TOM STOPPARD

POETS IN THE BOOKSHOP: SARAH COLES

Stoppard turns Hamlet on its head and puts two of Shakespeare’s minor characters under his keen observation.

ALL TICKETS: £4 Saturday, 18 February, 1pm THEATRE-IN-FOCUS: fluellen THEATRE PRESENT

A special event to celebrate the release of Sarah Coles’ first collection, Here and the Water (Gomer). Swanseabased Sarah’s poetry, fiction and reviews have also appeared in Planet magazine and Gomer’s recent anthology, Another Country, Haiku Poetry from Wales.

TICKETS: Free entry and wine

HAROLD PINTER’S A SLIGHT ACHE

Wednesday, 29 February, 7.30pm

The irascible Edward and the frustrated Flora are a longmarried couple. But one day a statuesque silent stranger appears and threatens to splinter their loveless, bourgeois marriage. A quintessential early tragi-comedy from Pinter.

All Theatre-In-Focus presentations are script-in-hand, and preceded by a talk about the playwright.

ALL TICKETS: £5

‘LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE: AN INTRODUCTION TO ASTROBIOLOGY’

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Professor Mike Edmunds, Cardiff University, organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

TICKETS: Free entry

JANUARY - APRIL 2012

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JOE ORTON

KIT LAMBERT

Thursday, 1 March, 7pm

Saturday, 3 March, 1pm

STUFF HAPPENS ON WORLD BOOK DAY

THEATRE-IN-FOCUS: fluellen THEATRE PRESENT

Celebrate St David’s Day and World Book Day with selected writers from The Crunch and the Dylan Thomas Centre, who will be reading extracts from the work of Welsh writers who have inspired them. Join us for a laid back evening of literature, conversation and a beer or two.

TICKETS: Free entry

www.dylanthomas.com

JOE ORTON’S FUNERAL GAMES

Wednesday, 14 March, 7.30pm

THE CUSTOM HOUSE BY KIT LAMBERT

In a disused custom house, just beyond the edge of a European When cult leader and con man, superstate, two men dream of Pringle, receives an anonymous letter telling him his wife is having crossing the border and starting a an affair with a de-frocked Catholic new life for themselves. A razorpriest, he hires young thug Caulfield sharp comedy about our attitudes to investigate. The blackest of black towards Europe from a brilliant comedies from the master of the art. emerging playwright, and first winner of Sherman Cymru’s Script All Theatre-In-Focus presentations Slam. are script-in-hand, and preceded by a talk about the playwright.

ALL TICKETS: £4 ALL TICKETS: £5 5

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Wednesday, 21 March, 7.30pm

‘GASTRONOMY AND SCIENCE’ Professor Peter Barham, Bristol University.

TICKETS: Free entry

Thursday, 29 March, 7.30pm POETS IN THE BOOKSHOP:

CLARE POLLARD Clare Pollard has published four collections of poetry, the most recent, Changeling (Bloodaxe, 2011), is a Poetry Book Society Recommendation.

Her play The Weather premiered at the Royal Court Theatre and her radio documentary, ‘My Male Muse’, was a Radio 4 Pick of the year. She recently co-edited the Bloodaxe anthology Voice Recognition: 21 poets for the 21st Century and is on the board of Magma poetry magazine.

TICKETS: F £4 C £2.80 PTL £1.60 Wednesday, 11 April, 7.30pm

LOVE IN PLASTIC BY IAN ROWLANDS Folllowing the death of his parents, Harold coats the interior of his house in plastic and regestates for nine months. As rebirth approaches, he becomes obsessed with an image of an actress. Protected only by a space suit, he journeys into the evils of society to find her.

ALL TICKETS: £4 6

JANUARY - APRIL 2012

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Thursday, 12 April, 7pm

BOOKLAUNCH: JON GOWER’S TOO COLD FOR SNOW A paid assassin loads up on viper-spit to tackle some uber-thugs; the governor of a prison ship introduces his inmates to haute cuisine; a farmer wakes up after an avalanche in north Wales to find he’s the last man alive.

The stories in this zany new collection range freely, almost chaotically, from northern Russia to the depths of despair.

They are fuelled by a high octane imagination and an uncommon zest for language by writer and broadcaster Jon Gower, who will be in conversation with Raconteur editor, Gary Raymond.

TICKETS: Free entry www.dylanthomas.com

Saturday, 21 April, 1pm THEATRE-IN-FOCUS: fluellen THEATRE PRESENT

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR SHAKESPEARE April 23rd is the 448th anniversary of the birth of the world`s greatest playwright, William Shakespeare. To celebrate the event, Fluellen presents an abridged version of its popular revue, Happy Birthday, Mr Shakespeare, which blends biography with excerpts from his plays in a lighthearted style.

ALL TICKETS: £5 Wednesday, 25 April, 7.30pm

‘THE FERMI PARADOX’ David Skibinski, Swansea University, organised by the Wales Gene Park.

TICKETS: Free entry 7

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Thursday, 26 April at 7.30pm POETS IN THE BOOKSHOP: LYNNE REES

Lynne Rees was born and grew up in Port Talbot. Her poetry collection, Learning How to Fall, is published by Parthian, she is co-editor of Another Country, Haiku Poetry from Wales (Gomer 2011) and she is currently researching and writing Real Port Talbot, forthcoming from Seren. She blogs as the hungry writer at www.lynnerees.com on life, food and writing although the food (and the wine) often get in the way of the writing.

TICKETS: F £4 C £2.80 PTL £1.60 Photo credits: Joe Orton image copyright Lewis Morley Archive / National Portrait Gallery; Sarah Coles by Bernard Mitchell; Jon Gower copyright Emyr Jenkins

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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.

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JANUARY - APRIL 2012