Everyman present: Do Not Go Gentle – Tue 5 – Sat 9 Sept
A joint Australian and Welsh production and the second-ever production of award-winning writer Patricia Cornelius’s play, Do Not Go Gentle centres on an allegorical interpretation of Robert Scott’s tragic Terra Nova Expedition to the South Pole. Discussing journey into old age and the fragility of life in a production marketed as funny, sad and poignant, the matinee performance on Saturday is followed by a Q&A session open to all.
Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff. Tickets: £12 / Concessions £10
Morris Dancing at Mermaid Quay – Tue 5 Sept, 8pm – 9.30pm
Cardiff Morris and guests present a colourful hour and a half of music and dance. Performing the Cotswold style of Morris dancing, complete with handkerchiefs, sticks, and a dancing dragon fulfilling the traditional role of the hobby horse, the group will also be performing some dances in the Welsh tradition.
Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay. Admission: Free
BBC Antiques Roadshow – Wed 6 Sept, 9.30am-4.30pm
The show comes to film in Cardiff Castle, allowing free entry for anyone to come along and showcase their goods. Leading UK antiques and fine arts specialists will be offering free advice and valuations to visitors throughout the day, and if you have an item which proves particularly interesting in its status and history, you are recommended to email the team at [email protected], or via the Share Your Story link on www.bbc.co.uk/antiquesroadshow.
Cardiff Castle. Admission: Free
Man to Man – Fri 8 + Sat 9 Sept
A woman is forced to adopt the identity of her dead husband to survive in Nazi Germany. This new English translation of Manfred Karge’s Man to Man, itself inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s Man Equals Man, is a one-woman show performed by Maggie Bain. This production by the Wales Millennium Centre is sold as being a modern fairy tale steeped in traditions of German storytelling, and indeed its visual design is rife with expressionistic style harkening to the cinematic work of F. W. Murnau and Robert Wiene. With the show proceeding on a UK tour after this opening performance at the RWCMD and finishing in New York later this year, the WMC are clearly proud of what they have produced here.
Richard Burton Theatre, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff. Tickets: £15 / Concessions £11
Creative Screenwriting for Computer and Videogames with Al Kang – Sat 9 + Sun 10 Sept
The hands-on workshop (14+) takes place across both Saturday and Sunday afternoon, offered up to anyone including those with no experience in either screenwriting or gaming. Focussing on transplanting Hollywood-style feature film narratives to games’ screenplays, perhaps don’t go in if you want to create avant-garde storylines. The host of the workshop, Al Kang, had a good career in the video game industry in the early 2000s, albeit in the animation and art departments, so expect less an intricate dissection of screenplay than an entry-level guide on devising stories for this medium.
Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea. Tickets: £15 / Concessions £10
Race for Life: Pretty Muddy Cardiff 5k/10k – Sat 9 Sept
The muddy obstacle course follows a scenic route through Bute Park along the River Taff and into Pontcanna Fields. Runners have to be over the age of 13, but the event has also scheduled some family activities and stalls for those here to support the runners.
Blackweir Fields, Bute Park, Cardiff. Tickets: £19.99 / Concessions £10
St Fagans Food Festival – Sat 9 + Sun 10 Sept
The annual food festival returns, promising to accentuate the rest of St Fagans’ usual attractions with the wafting smell of grub. Consisting chiefly of local producers, the festival offers traditional Welsh food alongside offerings from other countries. Some unspecified family fun will be mixed in with over 80 food, drink and craft stalls.
St Fagans, Cardiff. Admission: Free
DIGIfEST – Sat 9 Sept, 10.00am – 5.00pm
The day showcases a plethora of stalls, workshops and seminars that should prove beneficial to digital maestros and those completely new to anything digital, ranging from demonstrations of VR, 3D printing, a robotic arm and coding musical fruit, all the way to seminars on introducing people to apps and social media. The event works closely alongside Cardiff Central Library, who offer up the chance to enrol on their adult learning courses, as well as using the library resources to digitally discover your ancestry. I recommend checking out the full programme of activities to see if anything suits your fancy.
Cardiff Central Library. Admission: Free
BBC Proms in the Park – Sat 9 Sept
Celebrating the last night of the BBC Proms, attendees are invited to bring their own deck chairs and picnics to really make the most out of the night. Featuring performances by Mica Paris, Rebecca Trehearn and Jess Gillam, the focus of the night will be on the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, who will be performing classical pieces and traditional Welsh songs alongside popular film and television music.
Singleton Park/Botanical Gardens, Swansea. Tickets: £16 Advance / £18 On the day.
Welsh National Wedding Fayre – Sun 10 Sept, 11.00am-4.00pm
Wales’ largest wedding fayre is heading to Swansea before appearing in Cardiff City Stadium the following Sunday. Free entry, bubbly, samples, tasters, goody bags, magazine bundles and some live entertainment on stage make it seem a good time for those with zero interest in marriage. For those actually seeking what the fayre is intended for, there’s a smorgasbord of wedding suppliers, catwalk shows, wedding experts, hair and make-up demonstrations and discounts on offer.
Brangwyn Hall, Swansea. Admission: Free
words EDWARD LEE
