Monday 17 November 2014

Rediscovering Dylan / Ail-Ddarganfod Dylan

Swansea University’s Research Institute for Arts and Humanities (RIAH) will host ‘Rediscovering Dylan’, a programme of events curated specifically for Being Human, the UK’s first national festival of the humanities.
Held between 17 – 20 November 2014, Rediscovering Dylan celebrates the life and works of Swansea’s most famous son, Dylan Thomas.
Made possible by a grant from the festival organisers, the School of Advanced Study, University of London, supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy, Rediscovering Dylan will showcase the very best of Swansea University’s research excellence, using the work of the iconic Dylan Thomas as a focal point to fuse literature, theatre, music and art.

‌‌Selected from over 100 applications, the grant awarded to Swansea University will help bring together researchers and the local public to engage with their own interpretation of the humanities. Rediscovering Dylan will be part of a national programme of activities which aim to inform, extend and ignite contemporary thinking and imagination around the humanities.

The programme of events will begin with a public seminar by the distinguished T James Jones on ‘Another Version of Under Milk Wood’, followed by a public lecture by Professor Tudur Hallam on Dylan Thomas and Welsh poet and nationalist, Saunders Lewis.  Swansea University’s world authority on Dylan Thomas, Professor John Goodby, will launch his centenary edition of the Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2014). This new edition contains recently discovered material, looks at Dylan’s work in a fresh light and takes us to the beating heart of Thomas’ poetry.

Number 5 Cwmdonkin Drive, a play written by PhD graduate Liz Wride, and directed by award-winning playwright D.J. Britton, is a hilarious play set in the here and now telling the story of the unfortunately named Thomas Dylan whose 18th birthday falls on the same day as the Dylan Thomas centenary, and who is living with his Dylan-obsessed parents at Dylan’s birthplace.
In partnership with Literature Wales’ Developing Dylan 100 project, Dylan-inspired cross art-form workshops will be held at various local schools, before the week culminates with Dylan Live - a bilingual performance tracing Dylan Thomas’ trips to New York through jazz, beat poetry, hip-hop, spoken word and film and featuring Professor Daniel Williams.
Dr Elaine Canning, Deputy Director of the Research Institute for Arts and Humanities at Swansea University, said: “We are delighted to be part of the UK’s inaugural Festival of the Humanities and look forward to bringing together researchers and the community to explore the cultural offerings and heritage of our region through close engagement with one of its greatest cultural icons. We would like to express our sincerest thanks to the festival funders for their support”.

Rediscovering Dylan events are all free and open to the public.

17 November 2014 at 4pm
Fersiwn arall o Under Milk Wood (Another version of Under Milk Wood)
Public seminar by Welsh poet and dramatist, T. James Jones (simultaneous translation provided)
Venue:  Council Chamber, The Abbey, Swansea University.
17 November 2014 at 6.30pm
'Curse, bless, me now':  Dylan Thomas and Saunders Lewis
A public lecture by Professor Tudur Hallam (Swansea University)
Venue:  Wallace Lecture Theatre, Wallace Building, Swansea University. Reception from 6pm.
18 November 2014 at 4.30pm
Number 5 Cwmdonkin Drive - a play by Liz Wride
Number 5 Cwmdonkin Drive is a comic take on this year's Dylan Thomas celebrations. Set in the here and now, it tells the story of the unfortunately named Thomas Dylan, whose 18th birthday falls on the same day as the Dylan Thomas centenary.
Director: D.J. Britton. Featuring the original cast from the Welsh Fargo Theatre Company.
Venue:  Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea University.
This event is free, but tickets should be booked via the Taliesin Arts Centre: 01792 60 20 60.  http://www.taliesinartscentre.co.uk/performances.php?id=952
(The play will also be performed at Dylan Thomas’ birthplace, 5 Cwmdonkin Drive, on 19 November – **by invitation only**)
18 November 2014 at 6.30pm
‘Clap its great blood down’:  editing The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas:  A New Centenary Edition
A public lecture and book launch by Professor John Goodby (Swansea University)
Venue:  Wallace Lecture Theatre, Wallace Building, Swansea University. Reception from 6pm.
20 November 2014 at 7.30pm
Developing Dylan 100: Dylan Live
A bilingual performance tracing Dylan Thomas’ trips to New York through jazz, beat poetry, hip-hop, spoken word and film. Performers include Daniel Williams, Martin Daws, Zaru Jonson, Aneirin Karadog, Ed Holden, Huw V. Williams and film by Ewan Jones Morris.
Venue:  Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea University.
This event is free, but tickets should be booked via the Taliesin Arts Centre: 01792 602060.  http://www.taliesinartscentre.co.uk/performances.php?id=953

For further information, visit:

  1. http://beinghumanfestival.org/time-rediscover-dylan/
  2. http://www.swansea.ac.uk/riah/riah-public-lecture-and-event-series-2014-15/rediscovering-dylan/
  3. http://beinghumanfestival.org/

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