upfront
BIG SPLASH
THE challenge ? Cramming three days of festival fun into a few paragraphs ! It ’ s the fourth year of Big Splash : a citywide weekend of entertainment featuring four zones with an eclectic mix of things to watch , hear and try in Newport . If there isn ’ t something that interests you , whatever your age , then it ’ s time to take a long hard look at yourself . Seriously , there ’ s even a Wheel Of Death , which has to be seen to be believed . Ultimate Usk , beside the Riverfront Theatre , will have free shows inside and live music outside on the terrace , whilst a little further along the river , Fun Of The Fair sets up some thrilling rides . Urban Edge skids into the Newport Centre with an entire skate park in tow . There ’ ll be DJ sets and live music and you can enter ( or just watch ) the competitions for BMX , scooter and skateboard riders . The wheelfree alternative is the Stomp Dance Competition , where crews with big ambitions and the moves to match can pick up a £ 200 prize . Rodney Parade morphs into the Parklife zone where , apart from the amazing Spider Mountain experience , there ’ s also a bouncy castle , giant slide and a scramble net for both kids and adults . Tumbling into town on Friday will be the comedy troupe Slightly Fat Features , who ’ ve performed their unique brand of orchestrated mayhem worldwide to critical acclaim . Described as “ Monty Python meets Cirque Du Soleil ”, they use oodles of physicality , hysterics and inventiveness in their fantastic family friendly show . After their evening performance , and hopefully a good nights sleep , they ’ ll be hitting the streets again the next day to carry on the fun along with all the other entertainers who ’ ll be bringing eye-popping excitement to the city centre . On Saturday the Sunset Spectacular will have everyone oooing and aahing at the pyrotechnics , acrobatics and fireworks , all beautifully reflected off the river . MARIA-LUSIA MEREDITH
PRAXIS MAKES PERFECT
PRAXIS is the act of engaging , applying , exercising , realising , or practicing ideas . Promising “ audience engagement ” from the very beginning , creative cool cat Gruff Rhys talks to me about Praxis Makes Perfect which , in the words of National Theatre Wales , is an “ immersive gig ” transporting us back in time to the very exciting world and life of millionaire Italian communist Giangiacomo Feltrinelli . Born into one of Italy ’ s wealthiest families and descended from a marquess , Feltrinelli was a man who took a keen interest in the lives of the poor and working class from a young age . Eventually , this led him to develop a political stance that was decidedly left-wing . As a publisher , he brought the words of political icons such as Che Guevara and Fidel Castro to public attention , although it was through the publication of Doctor Zhivago and author Henry Miller that Rhys , as with most people , came across him . “ National Theatre Wales called us in after we did some work on a theatre production with Phil Collins in Berlin . I was telling them about the Feltrinelli album [ which we ’ d started working on ] and they were really interested in helping us turn it into some kind of narrative ,” says Rhys . “ We started to form ideas with Tim Price and he came with us to Italy where we went to the Feltrinelli library in Milan .” Rhys is animated and full of enthusiasm as he talks . “ What defined F in a way was his life-long fight against fascism . His library is full of socialist texts , anarchist and feminist texts , counter-cultural magazines .” While these were extremely exciting , it is the story of Feltrinelli himself which Rhys , Price , musical collaborator Boom Bip , and director Wils Wilson have brought vividly to life . “ We wanted to connect people with his life . The songs are pretty melodramatic ; it ’ s not an album of political rhetoric , its more about the trials and tribulations of Feltrinelli during a time of violent civil war .” And so to the production ’ s promise that we will see Feltrinelli playing basketball with Castro and being tortured by the CIA . “ The violence doesn ’ t translate well ,” says Rhys , “ and it isn ’ t a thing to glorify . But people will be inspired .” MAB JONES
Big Splash , Newport , Fri 31 May-Sun 2 June . Info : www . newport . gov . uk / theriverfront
Praxis Makes Perfect , secret location , Cardiff , Thurs 2-Sun 5 May ( inc . 3pm show Sat 4 ). Tickets : £ 15- £ 20 . Info : 029 2063 6464
BUZZ 18