Year long celebration of Dylan Thomas’ work announced

The centenary of the birth of iconic Welsh poet Dylan Thomas will be celebrated with a year of events across Wales and the world, Welsh Labour’s Business and Tourism Minister Edwina Hart has announced.

‘Dylan Thomas 100’ will be a year-long festival and line-up of events including theatre performances, visual arts, comedy, television, film and exhibitions, to be held across Wales and beyond, to celebrate the life and work of the poet, thanks to funding from the Welsh Government and other partners. The settings that inspired Dylan the most will be the main focus for DT100, from his hometown of Swansea’ and Laugharne’s shores, to the Ceredigion countryside.

In-Wales events include a Wales-wide theatre production tour of ‘A Child’s Christmas in Wales’, new productions of some of Dylan’s great works including ‘Under Milk Wood’, a series of activities centred around the iconic Boathouse in Laugharne, including a literary public tour, and a major new exhibition at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.

A year-long Swansea Festival of Music and Arts is planned, based on the poet’s works, which includes a world premiere by composer Karl Jenkins and Bangor University will stage a mini-festival of five concerts, demonstrating musical responses to the works of Dylan Thomas. A ‘Dylan Odyssey’, organised by Literature Wales, will offer a series of literary public tours in Wales and the United States, ranging from the boutique to shabby chic. Participants will be able to actively experience for themselves the places and themes which inspired and forged Dylan’s creative writing.