Welcome!
We’ve reached the halfway point of the Dylan Thomas 2014 celebrations and there are still lots of amazing events lined up from July to September. There are many guided tours on offer in Swansea with Lighthouse Theatre Company, Literature Wales and Fluellen Theatre Company. Menna Elfyn, one of Wales’ most significant poets will be hosting a Bilingual Literature Festival, and soldier-poet Brian Turner reads from his memoirs. The Dylan Thomas Centre’s blockbuster Notebooks exhibition can be viewed until the end of August and Swansea Museum’s Dylan’s Swansea exhibition continues until November.
Swansea University hosts Dylan Unchained: The Dylan Thomas Centenary Conference, while you can enjoy a day of music, poetry, storytelling, art and theatre at The Green Fuse Festival in Cwmdonkin Park near Dylan’s birthpalce at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive. Further information and booking details are available at www.dylanthomas.com.
Tickets: S C PTL
Standard Concessions Passport to Leisure
100 Listen to Stan Tracey’s Under Milk Wood Jazz suite at Reynoldston Village Hall or take part in a Dylan Thomas Centenary Cycle ride from Laugharne to the Dylan Thomas Centre.
DT 100 funded event DT
Dylan Thomas 2014 supported event.
Until Sunday 31 August
Until Sunday 2 November
Dylan Thomas Notebooks Exhibition Dylan Thomas Centre
Dylan’s Swansea Swansea Museum
This exhibition comprises the four poetry notebooks written between 1930 and 1934, and the Red Prose Notebook that also dates from this time. They are accompanied by supporting material such as extracts from letters which refer to the poems and the processes involved in their writing, and a self-portrait in coloured pencil Dylan drew on the back of a letter to Pamela Hansford Johnson. The items are on loan from State University of New York at Buffalo. Free Entry (01792 463980
An exhibition that celebrates the Swansea that Dylan knew, where he was born, grew up, worked and played and how this influenced his work. Swansea Museum has worked with Dylan Thomas expert Jeff Towns and the exhibition features illustrations by Wyn Thomas. Free Entry (01792 653763 Image courtesy West Glamorgan Archive Service
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Wednesday 2 July, 7.00pm
University at Buffalo’s Poetry Collection - Dr. Michael Basinski and Dr. James Maynard Dylan Thomas Centre Michael Basinski, the curator of the Poetry Collection of the University Libraries, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, and James Maynard, Associate Curator, discuss their extensive collection of Dylan Thomas and James Joyce material. Tickets: S £4, C £2.80, PTL £1.60 (01792 463980 100
Saturday 5 & Sunday 6 July Saturday 2 & Sunday 3 August, Saturday 6 & Sunday 7 September, 10:30am – 12:30pm
Return Journey Walks National Waterfront Museum to Cwmdonkin Park A promenade production by the Lighthouse Theatre Company, in association with the Dylan Thomas Centre, through the streets of Swansea starting at the National Waterfront Museum and ending in Cwmdonkin Park. Relive the author’s journey through blitzed Swansea surrounded by the sights and sounds of the city. The production uses local performers and contains historical information about the Swansea of Dylan’s youth. Participants will receive an information pack with excerpts from his works, history and maps of the period. Tickets: S £9, C £7 (01792 463980
100
Saturday 5 July, 1pm
Sunday 6 July, 10am
Fluellen Theatre Co present Peter Barnes’ Last Things Dylan Thomas Centre
Dylan Thomas Centenary Cycle Ride Laugharne to Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea
Two ageing thespians prepare for final curtains by performing their famous “husband-and-wife” routine. A dark but hilarious comedy from one of the great maverick playwrights of the last century. All Theatre In Focus productions are script-in-hand and preceded by a talk about the playwright. Tickets: S £5 PTL £2 (01792 463980
Enjoy the picturesque scenery in a 57 mile cycle ride between two locations synonymous with the life and works of Dylan Thomas. Starts:- Castle Car Park, Laugharne. Tickets: £20 (any surplus over costs goes to Maggies Cancer Care, Swansea) 8 wheelrights.org.uk/events.htm Image courtesy Wheelrights
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Wednesday 9 July, 7.30pm
Thursday 10 July - March 2015
Writers Return: Cynan Jones, Owen Martell and Fflur Dafydd Dylan Thomas Centre
Dylan’s Words: A Waterfront Literary Trail National Waterfront Museum
Join us for the Swansea event in the British Council’s Writers Return series, in which writers who have travelled with the British Council tell the stories of their experiences. Tonight, we welcome leading writers Cynan Jones, Owen Martell and Fflur Dafydd to share their highlights. Tickets: S £4 C £2.80 PTL £1.60 100 ( 01792 463980
Follow a trail of quotations from the writings of Dylan Thomas selected by poet and Dylan scholar Peter Thabit Jones. Free Entry (029 2057 3600
Thursday 10 July, 7.30pm
Stan Tracey’s Under Milk Wood Jazz Suite Reynoldston Village Hall DT Jazz and the Gower Festival present a performance of Stan Tracey’s iconic jazz masterpiece which was inspired by Dylan Thomas’ play for voices. Professional actors and musicians from Thomas’ home town of Swansea combine for this multi-media presentation. Tickets: £13 – online booking fees apply (01792 475715
Saturday 12 July – Sunday 2 November
‘Harmony’ - The Dylan Thomas International Glass Award National Waterfront Museum University of Wales Trinity St. David has invited architectural and stained glass artists from across the world to create new works inspired by the word ‘Harmony’. From the selection of works shown in the Museum a winner will be selected for the Dylan Thomas International Glass Award. Free Entry (02920 573600
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Saturday 12 July, Full tour 2.00 pm - 7.30 pm; Lecture only - 6.00 pm - 7.00 pm
Saturday 12 to Sunday 13 July, 10.00am – 4.30pm
Dylan Thomas’ Swansea Uplands: the Boy and the Young Dog 5 Cwmdonkin Drive – National Waterfront Museum Uplands is Dylan Thomas country. Join Dylan biographer Phil Carradice and Dylan’s granddaughter Hannah Ellis on a walk around his childhood and early career haunts. The day ends at the National Waterfront Museum where Professor M. Wynn Thomas and Dr. Kirsti Bohata address why growing up in early 20th century Swansea resulted in many outstanding writers. Tickets: Full tour - £17; Lecture only - £8 (02920 472266
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Dylan’s Writing Shed Dylan Thomas Centre The Boat House’s Pop-up Writing Shed and Dictionary for Dylan visit the Dylan Thomas Centre. This replica of Dylan Thomas’ iconic writing shed in Laugharne will be outside the Dylan Thomas Centre, so you can call in and add your own word to the Dictionary for Dylan. Free Entry ( 01792 463980
100
Sunday 13 July, 10.30am – 12.30pm
Friday 18 – Sunday 20 July
Bilingual Literature weekend Words - absurd, misheard, curated by Menna Elfyn slurred and unheard of... until Dylan Thomas Centre now:’ – Workshop with Emily Events include a tour of Dylan’s Hinshelwood pubs with Wyn Thomas, a Dylan Thomas Centre Two years before his death Dylan Thomas said he “had fallen in love with words.” They were “the most important things to me ... ever.” In honour of his love of words we are compiling a Dictionary for Dylan. In this workshop, we’ll be playing with words, creating new words, and writing prose or poetry with them. This is a chance to invent your perfect word, and see it published in a Dictionary for Dylan.
discussion on R.S. Thomas and Dylan Thomas with Daniel Williams and M. Wynn Thomas, T. James Jones talking about Dan Y Wenallt, his translation of Under Milk Wood, and the launch of Heini Gruffudd’s Haven From Hitler. There will also be a celebration of the life and work of Nigel Jenkins. Further information and tickets:www.dylanthomas.com (01792 463980 100
Tickets: S £5 C £3.50 PTL £1.50 ( 01792 463980 100
Image credit: Menna Elfyn by Bernards Mitchell
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Saturday 19 July, Full tour 5.00pm - 9.30pm; talk & screening only - 7.30pm 9.30pm
Dylan Thomas’ Swansea Hollywood: the Mummy and the Old Dark House Palace Theatre to Swansea Grand Theatre Dylan watched many films in the cinemas of Swansea and this tour visits three with a talk in a secret space at a fourth; the Carlton. The event features author and scriptwriter Andrew Davies, Dylan Thomas Society Chairman Jeff Towns and festival organiser Berwyn Rowlands. The evening culminates with an introduced screening of Andrew Davies’ new drama ‘A Poet in New York’, followed by a question and answer session at the Grand Theatre. Tickets: Full tour - £17, talk & screening only - £8 (02920 472266
100
Sunday 20 July, Sunday 27 July, Sunday 10 August, Sunday 17 August, Sunday 24 August, Sunday 31 August, Sunday 14 September, 10.30am – 12.30pm
Guided Tour Dylan’s Swansea Dylan Thomas Centre Fluellen Theatre Co.’s lively and entertaining performance-based guided tour of Dylan’s central Swansea starts from the Dylan Thomas Centre and includes Dylan Thomas Square, The site of the Three Lamps, the site of the Kardomah, Castle Square and ends in the No Sign Wine Bar. Tickets: S £10 C £8 PTL £4 (01792 463980
100
Thursday 31 July, 7.30pm
Saturday 2 August, 1pm
Poets at the DTC with Sue Moules Dylan Thomas Centre
Fluellen Theatre Co present Susan Glaspell’s Trifles Dylan Thomas Centre
Sue Moules’ works have been published widely in literary magazines. Her work has also appeared in many anthologies, including Poetry Wales 25 Years (Seren), The Ground Beneath Her Feet (Cinnamon), The Voice of Women in Wales (Wales Women’s Coalition). She was featured as the first Honno Press poet of the month in July 2012 and will be Honno Press poet of the month again in July 2014. She has published three collections - In The Green Seascape (Lapwing), The Earth Singing (Lapwing) and The Moth Box (Parthian). She is a member of the poetry performance group Red Heron.
A farmer is murdered in his own bed. The obvious suspect is his wife. It appears to be an open-andshut case. But… A superb play from a shamefully neglected Pulitzer Prize winning playwright. All Theatre In Focus productions are script-in-hand and preceded by a talk about the playwright. Tickets; S £5 PTL £2 (01792 463980
The evening also includes an open mic session. Tickets: S £4 C £2.80 PTL £1.60 (01792 463980 11
Friday 15 August, 7.30pm
Brian Turner Reading – My Life as a Foreign Country Dylan Thomas Centre Brian Turner reads from, and discusses, his new memoir, My Life as a Foreign Country (2014) that retraces his war experience as a soldier-poet. He is the author of two poetry collections, Phantom Noise (2010) and Here, Bullet (2005) which won the 2005 Beatrice Hawley Award, the New York Times “Editor’s Choice” selection, the 2006 Pen Center USA “Best in the West” award, and the 2007 Poets Prize, among others. Ticket: S £4 C £2.80 PTL £1.60 (01792 463980 100
Image credit: Brian Turner by Kim Buchheit
Saturday 16 August, 10.30am – 12.30pm
Brian Turner Workshop “The Soldier’s Rucksack” Dylan Thomas Centre This generative workshop will study common (& uncommon) craft techniques often employed by writers of war literature. We’ll then explore different approaches for integrating these techniques into our own writing practice. Please bring writing tools with you (pen, paper, etc). Ticket: S £10 C £7 PTL £3 (01792 463980
100
Thursday 28 August, 7.30pm
Poets at the DTC with John Greening Dylan Thomas Centre To commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, John Greening reads from his latest collection, To the War Poets (Carcanet 2013). The book is a sequence of verse letters and poems which provide surprising perspectives on a century of conflict. The evening also includes an open mic session. Tickets: S £4 C £2.80 PTL £1.60 (01792 463980
Wednesday 3 – Friday 5 September
Dylan Unchained: The Dylan Thomas Centenary Conference, 1914-2014 Swansea University & Taliesin Arts Centre Leading critics will give talks on the work and influence of Dylan Thomas. There will be readings of work by contemporary poets, a play written by David Britton, the launch of the new Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas, plus exhibitions, tours and public lectures. All welcome. Tickets:- From £8 for individual events to £300 for a full residential package. (01792 295665
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Saturday 6 September, 11.00am - 5.30pm
Saturday 6 September, 12.00pm – 6.00pm
Dylan Thomas, the Kardomah Gang, the Actor and the Comedian Start and finish at the Dylan Thomas Centre
The Green Fuse Festival Cwmdonkin Park
Dr. John Goodby and Dylan Thomas Society Chairman Jeff Towns consider the influence of Dylan Thomas’ friends on his personality and poetry through the very places in which he socialised. Take a journey through Swansea and Gower enjoying a short talk by Sidney Roe, who grew up with Dylan, during lunch at Langland’s Brasserie. The tour finishes with a short walk up to Arthur’s Stone at Cefn Bryn – where Dylan tried to invoke spirits after the performance of a play. Tickets: £32 (Including two-course lunch) ( 029 2047 2266 100
A day of acoustic music, poetry, storytelling, promenading theatre and multi-activity art workshops. This free event brings the legacy of Dylan Thomas to families and adults in a park that was his ‘…world within the world.’ Free entry 8 www.cwmdonkinpark.com
Saturday 6 September, 1.00pm
Thursday 11 September, 7.30pm
Theatre In Focus: Fluellen Theatre Co. present Georges Feydeau’s Music Lovers Dylan Thomas Centre
An Evening With the Rack Poets Dylan Thomas Centre
Lucille is awaiting the arrival of her piano teacher. Edouard is planning an elicit encounter with his mistress. What could possibly go wrong? Cue mistaken identities and doubleentendres galore in this hilarious play from the man who invented modern farce, Georges Feydeau. All Theatre In Focus presentations are script-in-hand and preceded by a talk about the playwright. Tickets: S £5 Swansea PTL £2 ( 01792 463980
The poetry pamphlet is currently enjoying a renaissance and Powysbased Rack Press, the only Welsh press ever to have been a finalist (twice) in the Michael Marks Awards for poetry pamphlets, presents four recent Rack poets: Samantha Wynne Rhydderch, whose pamphlet Lime & Winter was published this year, alongside Deirdre Shanahan, Recovery Position, William Palmer, The Paradise Commissionaire and Ros Hudis, Terra Ignota. They will be introduced by Rack Press publisher Nicholas Murray. Next year Rack Press will be celebrating its 10th birthday and this will be a chance to hear some of its latest poetic voices. Tickets: S £4 C £2.80 PTL £1.60 ( 01792 463980 100
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Saturday 13 September – Tuesday 23 December
Sunday 21 September – Sunday 12 October
Dylan Thomas’ Manuscripts Exhibition Dylan Thomas Centre
Dylan Thomas – His People and Places Attic Gallery
This exhibition comprises manuscripts of poems, a list of rhyming words and a series of black and white photographs of Dylan Thomas, many of which have not been widely displayed or reproduced. Some date from the late 1930s when he is newly married, while the second set was taken in New York in the early 50s. These items shed light on his writing process and also his playful side – the facsimile of ‘Fern Hill’, for example, has a crossword on the back made up by Dylan.
Seven leading Welsh artists have been asked to seek out and interpret what Dylan Thomas saw and thus what inspired him. The artists include Dylan’s friend Glenys Cour, whose colourful abstract paintings reveal a poetic view of Swansea Bay; there’s work by Mike Jones from studies inside the Kardomah Café and Maurice Sheppard explores the countryside of Dylan’s childhood in West Wales. This unique exhibition will also feature paintings of Swansea by Jack Jones, a contemporary of Dylan from the 1920s; these works have not previously been exhibited in public.
The items are on loan from the Poetry Collection of the University Libraries, University of Bufalo, The State University of New York. Free entry (01792 463980
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Free entry ( 01792 653387 8 www.atticgallery.co.uk
Wednesday 24 September, 7.30pm
Science Café Dylan Thomas Centre Each month a leading expert in their field gives a brief introductory talk followed by a friendly informal chat. You can sit back, relax with a drink in your hand and listen, or get involved in the discussion and debate. Please see www.swansea.ac.uk/ science/swanseasciencecafe for the evening’s topic. Free Entry ( 01792 463980
Thursday 25 September, 7.30pm
Poets at the DTC with Matt Bryden Dylan Thomas Centre Matt Bryden is a poet and an English as a Foreign Language teacher, which has taken him to Tuscany, The Czech Republic and Poland. His first collection Boxing the Compass was published in 2013. Night Porter, which documents life in a Yorkshire hotel, was a winner of the Templar Poetry Pamphlet competition in 2010. His versions of the Taiwanese poet Ami have appeared in Modern Poetry in Translation and the full collection The Desire to Sing after Sunset, published with facing Chinese and English texts in 2013. In 2012, he toured The Captain’s Tower, an anthology of poetry about Bob Dylan, at venues across the UK including the Latitude festival The evening also includes an open mic session. Tickets: S £4 C £2.80 PTL £1.60 100 ( 01792 463980 17
Continues with: 2
October
National Poetry Day, Dylan Thomas Centre
3-4
October
Time Let Me Play, Dylan Thomas Theatre
4 October
Dylan: Poetry and Jazz Afternoon, National Waterfront Museum
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The Music in the Words, Brangwyn Hall
October
11 October
Wales Premiere of A Dylan Thomas Trilogy, Brangwyn Hall
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October
Tribute to Thomas in Song and Verse, Brangwyn Hall
18
October
Russian State Philharmonic Orchestra, Brangwyn Hall
19 - 28 October
The Beginning, Dylan Thomas Birthplace
24 - 26 October
Do Not Go Gentle Festival, Various Venues, Uplands
26 - 27 October
The Dylathon, Grand Theatre
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October November Dylan Thomas Festival, Dylan Thomas Centre
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October
Bob Kingdom: Return Journey, Dylan Thomas Centre
Whilst every effort is made to ensure that details of this programme are accurate, the City and County of Swansea reserve the right to alter any part of the programme without notice. Supported by:
This publication is available in alternative formats. Contact: ( 01792 635478