Buzz Magazine Buzz Magazine - July Issue | Page 24

upfront

TIME LET ME PLAY
WHEN we get ill most of us stay in bed, drown ourselves in tea and become
uncharacteristically passionate about the lives of the people on Jeremy Kyle.
There aren’t too many of us that would discover a deep love for the poetry of
Dylan Thomas, and then set off on a 50-date concert tour. This is exactly what
musician Keith James did.
After suffering from a heart attack in 2012 Keith decided it was best to ride the road
to recovery with family and so he moved to Wales to live with his sister. Though
poetry was nothing new to Keith (he has previously created shows saluting the
works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, William Blake, and Leonard Cohen) but it wasn’t
until he moved to Wales that he discovered his passion for Dylan Thomas.
Keith has given Thomas’ words a new lease of life and crafted them into songs
“I have taken my experience in music together with my love of poetry,” explains
Keith. “I’ve spent a considerable part of my life with a passion for compelling and
beautifully written prose and now it’s at the forefront of my music.”
His show, Time Let Me Play, will include these songs along with recordings of
readings from actor Richard Burton and Thomas himself. There will also be
sections of dramatic prose from other much loved poets (notably Federico Garcia
Lorca – Spain’s answer to Dylan).
Keith’s tour kicks off the poetic goodness in Pembrokeshire on Sat 26 July, at
the Food At Williams restaurant, and will be ending with a sense of grandeur in
Llandaff Cathedral in December. In August, Time Let Me Play will be showing in
Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire and Powys.
If you hadn’t noticed yet, 2014 is the centenary year of Dylan Thomas’ birth, and
there has been a lot going on to celebrate. Amongst the poetry readings, book
nights and performances of Under Milk Wood, there have been a few projects that
have taken the life and work of Thomas and presented it in such a way that it feels
completely new (not an easy task for work with such a legacy). With its fusion of
music, prose and verse, Time Let Me Play is one of these few. HEATHER ARNOLD

www.timeletmeplay.co.uk

PONTY’S BIG
WEEKEND
IT’S that time of year again, people – Ponty’s Big Weekend is on its way to entertain!
On Sat 19 and Sun 20 July Ynysangharad Memorial Park will be buzzing with
entertainment. Hopefully the sunshine will be blazing over the weekend, but with the
acts lined up this year, you’d happily stand a bit of summer rain.
Tickets to Saturday’s event are completely free and you’ll be treated to
performances by Only Men Aloud, who are anything but your average Welsh male
choir – expect everything from Welsh traditional music and opera to Tom Jones
and Coldplay. Singer Connie Fisher, who helped Andrew Lloyd Webber ‘solve a
problem like Maria’ when she won the lead role in The Sound Of Music a few years
ago, will be taking to the stage as well. Lucie Jones (local girl done good on the X
Factor) and 57 Chevy (who’ll send you on a trip back in time to the 50s, 60s and
70s) will be finishing the line-up.
Sunday tickets aren’t quite as priceless but £22.50 for what’s effectively a minifestival ain’t too shabby. Boy band Union J were brought together by the X-Factor in
2012 and have enjoyed great success so far; they’ll be playing some brand new songs
from their soon-to-be-released second album when they headline at the event.
Another X Factor star in the form of Sam Bailey, the former prison officer with a
belter of a voice, will be warming up her vocal chords at Ponty before she kicks off
her UK headlining tour next year. The day will also have more entertainment on
show from Damage, Rough Copy, The Parades, and Lovable Rogues too.
Tickets are available for both days now, and are available online. Alternatively
you can pick some up in person from the Muni Arts Centre in Pontypridd, Park
And Dare Theatre in Treorchy, the Coliseum Theatre in Aberdare or from Derricks
Records in Swansea. LAURA RILEY

Ponty’s Big Weekend, Ynysangharad Memorial Park,
Pontypridd, Sat 19 + Sun 20 July. Tickets: free Sat/£22.50 Sun.
Info: www.pontysbigweekend.co.uk
BUZZ 24