Find out what’s on in South Wales this week
For all the cycling hobbyists out there, this year’s Summer Snapped Up Market (The Printhaus, Cardiff, Sun 28 June. Admission: free) comes in a bike-themed dress-up. Promising to let you get your mitts on some artisan prints, you’ll also be able to take part in Pedal Power-led bicycle workshops. The inclusion of Bike-powered coffee (your guess is as good as ours…) and a raffle pretty much seals the deal.
If you like your movement even more artistic there’s the Wales Dance Platform (various venues in Cardiff and Newport, Fri 26-Sun 28 June. Tickets: £10 / £15 day pass / £35 weekend pass). In just a few days over forty choreographers and performers from around Wales will get the chance to showcase their moves, with the likes of Hudson & Haf, Ballet Nimba and Kitsch & Sync Collective all getting involved.
The Hay Summer Food Festival (Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Sat 27 June. Admission: free) is your go-to this weekend for food-baby conceiving antics. Ensconced in the beautiful market town of Hay-on-Wye, the Memorial Car Park will play host to over 50 local food, cider and whiskey producers. If you fancy a soundtrack to your scoffing, you’re in luck; entertainment comes courtesy of local brass bands, male voice choirs and folk musicians.
The stage adaptation of The Bodyguard (Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, Mon 22-27 Jun. Tickets: £17.50-£53.50) comes to the Millennium Centre, bringing along with it X-Factor winning Alexandra Burke in the titular role (evening performances only). Expect much on-stage dramatics and Whitney Houston cover sing-alongs.
Also on stage this week is {150} (Royal Opera House Stores, Aberdare, Sat 27 June-Sat 11 July. Tickets: £16.50/£14 ) – National Theatre Wales and Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru’s new collaboration, focussing on the story of the 150 Welsh men, women and children who settled in Patagonia in 1865.
Everyman Theatre will even be taking the stage outdoors from this week, with their annual Everyman Open Air Theatre Festival (Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wed 24 June-Sat 1 Aug. Tickets: £6-£16/£25 family tickets). The festival starts off the garden party with a stage version of Blackadder The Third, followed by the musical Sweet Charity, Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like and the Disney classic Beauty And The Beast.
Following in the same vein, blockbuster poet Carol Ann Duffy and Scottish multi-instrumentalist John Sampson (Savoy Theatre, Monmouth, Wed 24 June. Tickets: £5/£2 under-16s or over-60s) are creating a night of poetry and music at the Savoy Theatre. Promising “Mesmerising words and atmospheric music”, the night is sure to warm the cockles of those battling the mid-work-week slump.
The clubs are alive this week with two decades of success on the jungle, reggae and hip-hop by father and son duo Top Cat & Don Caesar (Queens Hall, Narberth, Fri 26 June. Admission: £10-£14). Having picked up the title of MC Of The Year four times, the punters of Narberth can expect a world-class back catalogue tonight.
The hardstyle scene is getting its kick with Dirty Funk Rockers (Release @ Undertone, Cardiff, Sat 27 June. Admission: £4) playing Undertone. Gary Waters (formerly known as Juice of Cally & Juice, the multi-award-winning hardstyle duo associated with Bionic, Ourstyle and Anarchy) is joining up with his wife, hardstyle DJ Frisky, to become the Dirty Funk Rockers.
Back to art and the fascinating folklore and Welsh midwinter tradition Mari Lwyd is the prime inspiration for Clive Hicks-Jenkins: Dark Movements (Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth, Mon 22 June-Sat 25 July. Admission: free). The multimedia exhibition engages with paintings, large-scale drawings, animated film and the use of shadow puppet models. It is an exploration of the continuation of cultural traditions and is absolutely fascinating.
words DARREN MILLARD