Author: Laura Pätäri

Seemingly mundane personal documents can weave a rich history between a person and the world around them. The archives and special collections are celebrating a Year of Discovery during 2019. The aim is to present “inventive individuals, adventurous Welsh men and women and new exciting resources for researches in the Archives”. As introduced in the previous issue of Seren, the Archives are in the process of acquiring a new collection titled “The Paget Papers” and are helped by myself, an undergraduate intern, to process the new accession. As three months have passed so far, I want to talk about a…

By Jamie King This semester has been the most inventive yet for Bangor’s English Drama Society, with all three plays in their lineup breaking out from the usual confines of the John Phillips Theatre’s proscenium staging to create a diverse array of theatre for the decent crowds they’ve drawn. The culmination of this programme is the noughties black comedy The God of Carnage, a translation of French playwright Yasmina Reza’s Le Dieu du Carnage – a one-act burst of middle class couples behaving badly, as Veronica and Michael (Roseanna Lovell and Lewis Wilson) welcome into their home Annette and Alan…

By Jamie King “There’s no keys to hold between her fingers. There’s no friend to call to make sure you get home alright. There’s no silenced headphones or self defence classes. We are at his mercy, weakened by lack of food, sleep and sunlight. We are the wilted flowers, the gardener’s hand lingers above ready to pull us from the ground.” In the exact centre of the worst nightmare of anyone who’s walked a dark street alone with a hundred Netflix serial killer shows spinning in their head, or a hundred Disney princesses snatched away and locked in towers –…

Every spring for three years, the Bangor Musical Theatre Society has arrived in Pontio to bring in their main show of the year. Looking back to Fame (2017) and High School Musical (2018), the previous Pontio shows have paved the way to family-friendly feel-good musicals. The auditorium full, we have grown to expect flashy group songs, sentimental solos, lovably humorous chorus characters and at least two confetti cannons in the finale. However, moving from the American high schools to Ancient Near East is no easy feat. Joseph is the brainchild of Tim Rice’s penmanship and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical mind,…

The Bangor University Archives and Special Collections are tightly tied with local heritage and cultural history, especially in terms of the many great landed estates of North Wales. This includes taking care of sizeable estate records. Indeed, the University is home to a staggering amount of collections from Welsh estates like Baron Hill, Mostyn, Penrhos, Penrhyn Castle and Plas Newydd. Most recently, the department has received a new collection from the Plas Newydd in Anglesey. The estate, dating as far back as 1470, has stood in the bank of the Menai Strait near the town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll and housed historical…

The Bangor University Archives and Special Collections are tightly tied with local heritage and cultural history, especially in terms of the many great landed estates of North Wales. This includes taking care of sizeable estate records. Indeed, the University is home to a staggering amount of collections from Welsh estates like Baron Hill, Mostyn, Penrhos, Penrhyn Castle and Plas Newydd. Most recently, the department has received a new collection from the Plas Newydd in Anglesey. The estate, dating as far back as 1470, has stood in the bank of the Menai Strait near the town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll and housed historical…

Originally a 1954 BBC Radio play, Dylan Thomas’ distinctively Welsh, working-class ‘Play for Voices’ stands out in the canon of modernist literature for its seductive combination of poetry and playscript. Set inside the hearts and minds of the inhabitants of the fictional Llareggub, exploring their dreams, fears and loves, the text itself is taught on a second year English Literature module here at Bangor. It is a somewhat left-field choice for the English Drama Society’s mid-year production; the slot that always draws the Soc’s largest audience, and has previously been occupied by more conventional theatre fare – a spooky, intense…

On the run-up to Christmas, there’s few things as iconic as the family trip to the panto. Audiences from all around the United Kingdom travelled to Llandudno to enjoy the glistening production of Cinderella on its opening night. The evening is set with anticipation and buzz. Cinderella, the new pantomime in Llandudno has established itself in adverts on buses all around North Wales, as well as signs around the seaside town. Walking in to the auditorium the dressed-up panto curtain, projections and silvery snowflake decorations have an instant effect: cue wide smiles on people’s faces, cue the first toddlers fussing about,…

As the curtain rises, a feeling of joy and curiosity sweeps over the audience. They have gone to see a show by the Welsh National Opera, and tonight for many, like myself, this may be their first time seeing a live opera. Not knowing what to expect, other than highly technical singing in Italian, I am surprised that my inner child is resurfaced in such a context. La Cenerentola, one of WNO’s three shows at Venue Cymru, Llandudno, brings a sense of fun and relaxed exposition onstage along with skillful vocal craft, in Italian composer Gioachino Rossini’s version of Cinderella.…

Sparkly, energetic theatre virtuoso Ruth Madoc talks with Seren about Calendar Girls the Musical in Llandudno, life of acting and her visions of the industry Let’s get started. Calendar Girls has enjoyed touring already in Leeds and Canterbury, and now at Newcastle. Tell me, what has it been like to perform in and around Yorkshire, where the story is famously set? It’s very interesting. We started off in Leeds which of course went absolutely swimmingly. But we thought, how will it go down in Canterbury in the south? Well, of course it was amazing, because it is a universal story.…

Pontio Arts And Innovations Centre For all your entertainment needs. Be it cinema, theatre, circus, comedy, dance, or just a good old coffee and cake, Pontio is your go-to arts and culture establishment in Bangor. Also full of art installations and work spaces for students, there’s always surprises to find. Check out “Y Caban” landmark on Pontio Hill for extra points. Location: Big, modern white building on Deiniol Road. Storiel Art Gallery Previously Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery, Storiel hosts a variety of art galleries, museum exhibitions and community exhibition spaces to bring the historical and contemporary…