Find out what’s on in South Wales this week
It’s time to indulge and get your geek-on as the Cardiff Film and Comic Con (Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Sat 21 + Sun 22 Mar. Tickets: £8-£15 day / £14-£172.50 weekend / £20 family ticket / £4 under 12s / under 4s free) returns to the capitol. Over the weekend any Movie buffs, cosplayers and general film and comic book fans will be able to snap up autographs, take part in masterclasses and peruse stalls full of curios and paraphernalia. This year’s guests include Spike from Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Game Of Thrones’s Jorah Mormont.
There will be more colourful costumes, if a bit gorier, at 2.8 Hours Later (Cardiff, Thu 19-Sat 28 Mar, Tickets: £38). In a scenario worthy of the silver screen, your mission in this live action game will be to find the earth’s last group of un-zombied kids – Unfortunately they’ve been captured by a warlord with an army of the dead…
There is more harrowing theatrics as Manfred Karge’s Man to Man (Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Thu 19-Fri 27 Mar, 8pm. Tickets: £9-£14/£11 conc) hits the stage. This one woman show tells the story of Ella – a widow in Nazi Germany who disguises herself and assumes the identity of her late husband, so that she can keep his job as a crane operator and survive the war. Thrown into the world of all things manly, Ella lives in fear of being exposed.
There will be something brand spanking new as theatre company Dirty Protest stage their Dirty Shorts (Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Wed 18 March. Tickets: £2.50-£5). For the showcase of new work Dirty Protest have rounded up talented local writers and asked them to create a short piece with the theme ‘end of the line’. The night will include work from established writers (including Meredydd Barker, Lucy Gough, Branwen Davies and Catrin Fflur Huw), as well has putting a spot light on some talented newbies.
There will be drama on an international scale as the BANFF Mountain Film Festival (Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl, Wed 18 March; Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon, Thu 19 March; The Ffwrnes, Llanelli, Fri 20 March. Also in Cardiff and Milford Haven in April and May. Tickets: £11.00-£16.00) hits screens across South Wales this week. You can paraglide over the awe-inspiring Alpine range; surf the Arctic Circle; ski through Patagonia; kayak through the rapid, mountainous region of British Columbia and mountain bike across the Isle of Skye- all from your movie theatre seat!
BANFF isn’t the only film festival this week as The Wales One World Film Festival (Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff + Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold + Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Fri Tues 17-Thurs 21 May. Other venues across South Wales in April and May. Tickets: prices vary) celebrates film from across the globe. There will be plenty of screenings of films from all corners of the world, as well as Q+A sessions with directors, discussion panels and a Persian New Year feast.
There will be more food and entertainment combinations at CwtchFest (Gwdihw Bar, Cardiff, Sun 22 March. Admissions: £3).This mini festival will bring together local musicians and food producers –James Kennedy, Raspberry Jam and Funky Jesus (and others) will be providing the tunes, while the Rolling Hot Dog company, Kati Wok and the Dusty Knuckle Pizza Company will be providing the food.
There are some big hitters coming to town this week as the likes of Morrissey (Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wed 18 Mar. Tickets: £65/£45). Though the former Smith’s frontman has declared that his most recent solo work is the most significant, the hopes are high for a view of the band’s hits to be wheeled out.
There will be some more classic hits as Mike Peters (Sin City, Swansea, Fri 20 Mar. Tickets: £16) – former lead singer of The Alarm brings his one-man show to Swansea. In 1983 the band’s single, 68 Guns}reached number 17 in the UK singles chart, and the album, Declaration, peaked at number six in the UK albums chart. Now Peters is seeking to keep the legacy alive with a UK tour which, in addition to the Swansea date, will be coming to Cardiff’s Globe on Sat 2 May.
There will be a very special brand of sleazy house as the four-part DJ crew, The Boogie Cartel (Delete @ The Vaults, Cardiff, Sat 21 Mar. Tickets: £12), take to the decks all at once. The house/disco/boogie sounds won’t be all you’ll hear, however, as the acid and house outfit Paranoid London will turning out tunes in the very next room.
words JENNIFER MAGUY