IN THE SUMMER TIME WHEN THE WEATHER IS FINE..
The dramatic improvement in the weather in May and June tempted many of us to enjoy the
opportunity to get outdoors. Apart from gardening, walking, fishing or golf, there seems to
have been a revival in recent summers of outdoor theatre and cinema. Again this year we are
well catered for in Cardiff and the Vale.
Illyria will be staging an outside production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth
Night at The Kymin Gardens in Penarth on Friday 25 August
(7p.m). With a running time of 2 hours 30 mins we are promised an
evening of yearning romance, music, and sheer joy – all performed on a
stage inspired by those of the Elizabethan touring troupes! Ticket
details: Adult: £18.95/Child £12.95 (under 12s) – booking fees apply. We
are politely requested to bring low-backed chairs or blankets and dress
warm! You are welcome to bring a picnic (no BBQs sorry). Light
refreshments will be available
Interestingly, Twelfth Night, or What You Will is believed to have
been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for
the close of the Christmas season. It was probably commissioned for
performance as part of the Twelfth Night celebrations held by Queen
Elizabeth I at Whitehall Palace on 6 January 1601 to mark the end of the embassy of the Italian
diplomat, the Duke of Orsino.The first documented public performance was on 2 February 1602 (at
Candlemas), in the Middle Temple in London, one of the four Inns of Court. One odd fact about
the play is that some believe Sherlock Holmes’s
birthday to be 6 January due to the fact that
Holmes quotes twice from Twelfth Night whereas
he quotes only once from other Shakespeare plays.
If movies are more your thing then Luna Cinema
are returning to Cardiff Castle with three outdoor
showings of popular movies. Harry Potter and
the Philospher’s Stone (PG) is being shown on
Thursday 31 August at 8 p.m. The next evening, 1
September we can revisit the Julia Roberts/
Richard Gere classic, Pretty Woman rated 15 and
on Sunday, 2nd September, Top Gun (Maverick)
rated 12A. You can bring a picnic but alcohol
must be purchased on site. Tickets can be found online and cost from £17.50.
The National Trust in conjunction with Adventure Cinema are also offering outdoor cinema in
the beautiful surroundings of the Dyffryn Gardens South Lawns. Dirty Dancing (12) will be
shown on Friday 8 September, Top Gun Maverick (12) on Saturday 9 and Grease (PG) on
Sunday 10. Apart from watching the movies this will also be an opportunity to see the gardens
after usual opening hours and experience the beauty of Dyffryn on a late-summer evening. You are
encouraged to bring a picnic blanket, your own food, perhaps a chair and to wrap up warm. Food
and alcohol will also be available at the venue. Doors open at 6.45pm with the films beginning at
8.15pm. Tickets from £15.50 need to be purchased in advance from Adventure Cinema.
As an alternative to all this you could always use your laptop, a projector and a homemade screen
to extend your evening entertainment outdoors by setting up an al fresco movie theatre in the
comfort of your own garden. Better still, there may be some enterprising Wenvoeites with amateur
dramatic leanings, willing to put on a garden production or two. If so, What’s On can always be
counted on to get the message out there!
