Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay
Fri 12 Aug – Sat 31 Dec
To mark the centenary of one of the greatest children’s writers of all time, the Wales Millennium Centre is set to capture some of Roald Dahl’s best and most memorable work in an interactive and immersive exhibition experience.
Fresh from London’s Southbank Centre, The Wondercrump World of Roald Dahl promises to provide a new perspective on the much loved writer. The exhibition has been created using archived materials from the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, but the tour will give you a rare opportunity to experience these unique objects outside their traditional glass cases.
In the exhibition, visitors are able to discover where he got his inspiration for his most famous characters, and it is surprising and enlightening to discover how closely they are linked to Dahl’s own life. The journey begins by taking the audience through the early life of Roald Dahl, from his boarding school in Western-Super-Mare to his early days in the RAF.
This section is especially poignant as Dahl’s history is so intertwined with Wales. If you simply step outside the centre, you will be on Roald Dahl’s Plass, which was opened in the millennium and was created in honour of the writer who was born in the city.
As visitors are guided through the exhibition, they can see the impossible spaces in Dahl’s books come to life. They are taken away from the everyday and into a unique world of magic and intrigue. The exhibition gives the opportunity for guests to visit the fantastical forests of Mr Fox, wander through Matilda’s magic library and even get a glimpse of James Giant Peach.
The impressive and ambitious tour is comprised of interactive instalments which allow visitors to be creative and imaginative, making their own world from personal experience and memory, intertwined with the world of Dahl.
Even though the exhibition is created for a younger audience, much like Roald Dahl’s writing, it is suitable for children of all ages. A journey through the exhibition will create nostalgia as you dust off childhood memories and travel to a place altogether more exotic, bizarre and most importantly, magical.
Tickets: £8-£9. Info: 029 2063 6464 / www.wmc.org.uk
words ELOUISE HOBBS