I was in Bangor last Friday for the
´óÏó´«Ã½ National Orchestra of Wales concert at the Prichard-Jones Hall. It was the final concert of this year's Bangor New Music Festival and included three world premières - a cello concerto by Adrian Williams, a piece called Number Nine Dream by Andrew Lewis and Hologram by Guto Puw.
Guto runs the New Music Festival and also lectures at Bangor University. He's just come to the end of his term as Composer in Residence with the ´óÏó´«Ã½ NOW - the first time the orchestra's ever had anyone in that role - and Hologram was the last of three works he was commissioned to write during that time.
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I've got myself wound up at the prospect of the half-Welsh Carey Mulligan playing Eliza Doolittle.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Ms Mulligan, who is a fine actress. My problem is the whole plan by Emma Thompson to remake My Fair Lady and the question that springs to my mind is, why?
I'll willingly admit that the classic film version with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison is one of my all time favourites. I know Hepburn didn't sing the role but, in every other respect, she is the perfect Eliza. What is this compulsion to revisit movies and make poor imitations?
Just think of The Italian Job, Alfie, The Thomas Crown Affair. Sorry (call me a grumpy old woman) but I don't believe they improved on the originals. As for Carey Mulligan, surely there are lots of equally challenging, interesting and rewarding parts for such a good actress?
Michael Ball dons his fatsuit and frock to reprise his role as Edna Turnblad in the hit musical Hairspray at Cardiff's from the end of March.
Michael Ball dressed as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray.
The West End star told me he's moving into the realms of production (or over to the dark side as he put it) when I interviewed him for the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Wales Arts Show.
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Huge congratulations to Welsh actors Aneurin Barnard and Iwan Rheon. They won Best Actor in a Musical, and Best Supporting Role in a Musical respectively at yesterday's Olivier Awards.
The two appeared in the new musical Spring Awakening in London last year. It was Aneurin's first big stage role since graduating from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 2008 and beating four other nominees (including Rowan Atkinson as Fagin in Oliver!) is pretty good going for an actor who's only been working professionally for such a short time.
You might have seen Iwan Rheon in E4's series Misfits, and you can watch him on stage in Wales in May when he'll be working with . We'll be catching up with him on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Wales Arts Show then too.
Welsh actors Aneurin Barnard and Iwan Rheon both picked up prestigious Laurence Olivier Awards in a ceremony at London's Grosvenor House Hotel last night for their respective roles in musical Spring Awakening.
Aneurin Barnard and Iwan Rheon with their Laurence Olivier Awards © Charlie Hopkinson
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I was at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama recently and couldn't get over how much the building work had progressed. It's a massive refurb project at the Cardiff site which will provide a recital hall, a theatre, and four acting and movement studios to complement the existing facilities at Wales' national conservatoire.
It all comes at a cost, of course. £22.5 million to be exact, and RWCMD are putting on a very exclusive event at Buckingham Palace at the end of April to aid the fundraising. At the college they reckon the new block is now likely to go by a floor a fortnight and it's worth having a look at the webcam images on  that let you follow the progress in the warmth of your home!
It's all a far cry from the early days of the college when it was based in Cardiff Castle and the sounds of music practice battled with the screeching of the peacocks on the lawn. I'm sure past students have some tales to tell of those days!
Matt Smith's debut as the 11th Doctor in cult television programme Doctor Who was screened at a movie-style premiere in Cardiff last night. It was attended by Smith and Karen Gillan, who plays the Doctor's feisty new companion Amy Pond.
Karen Gillan as Amy Pond and Matt Smith as the Doctor. Photo: ´óÏó´«Ã½/Todd Antony.
The new 13-part series will be shown on ´óÏó´«Ã½ One Wales from Saturday 3 April. Read more about the premiere on the and browse the Doctor Who site for further news and features.
I've been mulling it over for almost a week - the first show by National Theatre Wales. It was A Good Night Out In The Valleys at Blackwood Miners' Institute and on tonight's Radio Wales Arts Show I'll be getting local writer Patrick Jones' views on the play.
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Welsh stars Aneurin Barnard and Iwan Rheon will discover if they have won one of the most prestigious prizes in the theatrical world on Sunday evening as the Laurence Olivier Awards are held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
Aneurin Barnard with Spring Awakening co-star (and fellow Olivier nominee) Charlotte Wakefield at the Laurence Olivier Awards nominees lunch held earlier this month.
Barnard, originally from the Ogmore Vale, is up for a coveted gong in the best actor in a musical or entertainment category for his performance as Melchior Gabor in Spring Awakening - a musical adaptation of German playwright Frank Wedekind's controversial play.
His co-star and fellow Welsh actor Iwan Rheon starred opposite him in the production, staged at the Novello Theatre in Aldwych, London, as Moritz Stiefel. Rheon is up for the award of best supporting performance in a musical or entertainment.
Iwan Rheon as Moritz Stiefel in Spring Awakening © Helen Maybanks.
Live coverage of the awards ceremony will be streamed on the website on Sunday evening from 6.30pm. We'll bring you news if either of the young Welsh hopefuls are successful.
Welsh star of stage and screen Siân Phillips is enjoying positive reviews for her portrayal of Juliet in Tom Morris' production Juliet and her Romeo at .
Photograph of Siân Phillips as Juliet © Simon Annand
As reported by the today, the production (which sets the star-crossed lovers in their eighties and in a care home) is proving extremely popular with critics and fans alike. Read more on the website.
If you haven't discovered them already, there's a wealth of new articles on Welsh film and cinema on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Wales Arts website, written by the noted film critic and historian Dave Berry.
Dave , so we fortunate to be able to bring you just a small slice of his
encyclopaedic knowledge - and love - of Welsh film in these articles
that he wrote late last year.
Black and white photograph of Dave Berry © Media Wales
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First Minister Carwyn Jones yesterday told AMs that the original plans for Dragon International Film Studios - the so-called Valleywood complex - near Bridgend were "over ambitious".
As reported by today, Jones went on to say that he thought the project would prove to be a worthwhile investment as the first film to be made at the studios -
medieval epic Ironclad - went into production last year.
Film director Peter Greenaway featured in an interview on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 3's Night Waves programme last night, in which he spoke about his film Nightwatching and how cinema is dead.
Photograph of Peter Greenaway by
Greenaway's Nightwatching (2007) is a film about Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn and the creation of one of his most famous paintings The Night Watch. It stars Martin Freeman as the artist and though it originally premiered in 2007, is due for release in UK cinemas later this month.
Listen to the interview on ´óÏó´«Ã½ iPlayer (available until 23 March).
Former X-Factor star Rhydian Roberts is set to make his musical theatre debut in Jeff Wayne's musical version of .
Roberts will team up with stars Jason Donovan and Liz McClarnon for the November and December shows of the The War of The Worlds - Alive on Stage! 2010 tour.
He will play the part of Parson Nathaniel in the production, which will also see the stage graced by another Welshman: an 11-foot high 3D hologram of Richard Burton will be projected during the show, as he plays George Herbert, the journalist.
Design work has started on an arts and innovation centre at Bangor University which will house cutting edge teaching and learning facilities and a range of indoor and outdoor performance spaces including a theatre.
University Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Fergus Lowe, who is leading the project, commented: "We will create an internationally significant centre for learning and the performing arts that will be a potent symbol of innovation and collaboration for the whole community."
Read more about the development on .
Amlwch-born actor Andy Whitfield, currently starring in controverial American television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, has put his acting career on hold while he receives treatment for cancer - today.
Whitfield moved to Australia in 1999. He stars in the controversial 'swords and sandals' series with fellow British actor John Hannah, and also starred in 2007 film Gabriel.
A new stage show celebrating the life and career of Welsh comedian Tommy Cooper rolls into Cardiff next week, as part of a massive 136-date tour.
Jus' Like That! A Night Out With Tommy Cooper features actor Clive Mantle as the fez-wearing funnyman. The actor will be well-known to fans of ´óÏó´«Ã½ medical dramas Casualty and Holby City, and also The Vicar of Dibley.
on the website.
Welsh literary organisation Academi has announced bursaries worth £95,000 for 17 writers.
The bursaries will be given to new and established literary figures, and will allow them to take time out from employment to write.
The recipients are: Byron Rogers, Daniel Davies, Jane MacNamee, Dafydd Apolloni, Tiffany Atkinson, Damian Walford Davies, Dafydd John Pritchard, Samantha Wynne Rhydderch, Christopher Lloyd, Jim Bowen, Eiry Miles, Ann McManus, Robat Gruffudd, Karen Owen, Euros Lewis, Alex Keegan and Ivy Alvarez.
There's more information on the .
Plans for the renovation of Penarth's Pavilion Pier will include a cafe, bar, observatory and a multi-purpose auditorium. A design team, fronted by architect Niall Phillips, has been appointed.
There's more information on the .
The fourth
Artes Mundi competition opened today, billed as an international contemporary art exhibition and the UK's largest art prize.
The work of emerging artists from seven different countries is on show at the National Museum in Cathays Park, Cardiff until 6 June. The prize - a hefty £40,000 - will be awarded in the middle of May and the judges base their decision on a body of work created by the artists over five to eight years.
This year the work on show is by artists from Israel, Peru, Bulgaria,
Russia, Taiwan, Kyrgyzstan and Albania. Interestingly, many of them now
live and work elsewhere in the world and much of the work has a strong
political message. There's a lot of photography and video represented
so anyone expecting an exhibition of painting or 3D work will be
disappointed. I suppose it's inevitable in an age where moving images
surround us all, but I sometimes wonder about the difference between
video installations and film making. Â
I went to the exhibition preview with Welsh artist, Iwan Bala to get his impressions for the Radio Wales Arts Show.
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Thousands of Wales' oldest and rarest books have been saved after a council threatened to sell them.
The 14,000 books, some of which date back to the 15th century, will now be moved to Cardiff University. The university, Welsh Assembly Government and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales have donated £1.2m towards the transfer of the books.
Read more on the story on and browse our early Welsh literature section to learn about the long and impressive history of literature in Wales.
Welsh stand-up Rhod Gilbert is set to front a new comedy show, and will film a pilot episode in front of a studio audience later this month.
Gilbert, following the success of his appearance as host on ´óÏó´«Ã½ show Never Mind The Buzzcocks, would chair the proposed show - Ask Rhod Gilbert - and would be joined by two guest comedians each week, as reported by the today.
Michael Sheen is well known for his portrayals of prominent figures such as Tony Blair, Sir David Frost and most recently Brian Clough in The Damned United, but his latest acting role couldn't be more different.
(Film still of the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland © Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Sheen voices the character of the White Rabbit in the new Walt Disney Pictures/Tim Burton film Alice in Wonderland, an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's surreal children's adventure. The film is released in UK cinemas on Friday 5 March.
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Writer Tessa Dahl, daughter of Welsh author Roald Dahl, has spoken out against one of the world's major literary awards, the .
The 2010 Dylan Thomas Prize was recently launched in New York to coincide with St David's Day in Wales. The deadline for submissions of entries for the biennial prize, named after one of Wales' greatest ever writers, is 30 April 2010.
Dahl commented at the launch: "Whatever your metier is, you'll think yours is the best. A poet of course will think poetry ought to win, and a novelist or dramatist will think their form is best... but how can you, really, pit a ten-line poem against a 300-word novel? It's not really fair, is it?"
The inaugural Dylan Thomas Prize, which is funded by the University of Wales, was won by Welsh writer Rachel Trezise for her short story collection Fresh Apples.
An open art exhibition featuring the works of 99 different artists is now on show at the in Bangor.
This is the 15th annual exhibition, which runs until 10 April, and a smaller exhibition of the works will be held at Gwynedd Council's Oriel Pendeitsh Gallery
in Caernarfon following the display in Bangor - from 1 May to 20 June.
A panel of selectors decided on the final exhibition from over 240 entries. This year the selectors' prize of £250 went to Isobel Crawford from Colwyn Bay with her archival digital print, It Wasn't Always Like This.
Today marks , the biggest annual celebration of books and reading in the UK and Ireland.
World Book Day in Wales is facilitated by the , who have organised in which the people of Wales are encouraged to give a book to family, friends or colleagues to share the enjoyment of reading. The campaign is fronted by Wales Today and X-Ray presenter Lucy Owen.
(Photograph of Lucy Owen and Rhodri Owen, who are participating in Give a Book Week)
Give a Book Week runs until Saturday 6 March, so you've still got time to take part. What book would you recommend to your friends to read, or what have you read recently that's inspired you?
Welsh independent production company has won a ´óÏó´«Ã½ commission for a daytime drama as part of a series to celebrate the Swinging Sixties.
The Indian Doctor (working title) will star Sanjeev Bhaskar and tell the story of Dr Prem Patel, one of the thousands of doctors who moved from the Indian Sub-Continent to the UK - and in this case the Rhondda in south Wales - to begin new lives.
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The first and long-awaited production from takes place this month in a variety of venues across the south Wales valleys.
(Production shot of National Theatre Wales' A Good Night Out in the Valleys featuring Boyd Clack, Sharon Morgan, Siwan Morris, Oliver Wood, Huw Rhys and Amy Starling © National Theatre Wales.)
is written by Alan Harris and directed by National Theatre Wales Artistic Director John McGrath. The cast of six actors are likely to be well known to Welsh audiences as they've starred in television hits such as Belonging, High Hopes and E4 drama Skins.
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Welsh photographer , the man behind the Cool Cymru collection featuring some of Wales' best known celebrities, has called for a national portrait gallery in Wales.
Morris spoke out at a one day exhibition of some of his portrait works in Llanelli library yesterday to mark St David's Day. on the WalesOnline website.
He is set to photograph the likes of Catherine Zeta Jones and Tanni Grey-Thompson later this year, has just completed a commission for Hollywood icon Sir Anthony Hopkins and has recently received an accolade from US publishers Kennedy for his emotive picture End of Shift.
Welsh star of stage and screen Siân Phillips is to appear as one of William Shakespeare's most famous heroines in an unusual take on tragedy Romeo and Juliet.
(Photograph of Siân Phillips as Juliet © Simon Annand.)
In the new version of the Bard's play, director Tom Morris' production Juliet and her Romeo casts the lovers in their eighties with their anxious children, not their parents, seeking to prevent an imprudent and costly match.
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To mark St David's Day, watch Gavin & Stacey star Margaret John making Welsh cakes and watch a programme on ´óÏó´«Ã½ One Wales tonight about the Welsh star.
Margaret John - National Treasure is an intimate portrait of the popular performer's incredible acting career, and features clips from the last 50 years of TV and special guest interviews - including Ruth Jones, Eve Myles and Joanna Page.
Watch the programme on ´óÏó´«Ã½ One Wales this evening at 8.30pm.
Welsh stand-up comedian Rhod Gilbert is set to film a pilot for a new comedy show with Paddy McGuinness.
They Drink It In The Congo is a new panel show for ITV1 in which comics and celebrities team up for a light hearted quiz that celebrates all things funny from around the world.
Rhod is set to be one of the team captains - the other being Sarah Millican - and the show will be presented by Phoenix Nights star McGuinness.
| 16:04 UK time, Wednesday, 31 March 2010
