14 November: 19:00 -20:00: 'Kings, Presidents, & Spies: Assassinations Past and Present'
Join us for an interactive talk, quiz and readings as we investigate secrecy and the use of assassination from Medieval to modern times. We’ll also consider the methods deployed by assassins past and present, including red hot pokers and poisoned toothpaste!
Led by: Dr Luca Trenta, Dr Eoin Price and Dr Roberta Magnani
Venue: Cinema and Co. Event Partners: Cinema and Co.
15 November: 14:00-16:00: 'Discovering your Creativity: an interactive writing workshop'
Come along to our interactive writing workshop where you’ll have a chance to write poetry and prose on themes such as secrets, place and life in Swansea. Lines from individual works will be used to create a collage of what it means to both live and create in Swansea.
Led by: Kathy Chamberlain and a team of PhD students and alumni in Creative Writing whose research focuses on ‘place’.
Venue: National Waterfront Museum. Event Partners: National Waterfront Museum and Disability Arts Cymru
16 November: 11:00–15:00: ‘Discovering the Mary Rose: Aaartt on the High Seas
All aboard for a fun-filled day of fantastical adventure on the high seas, celebrating the Glynn Vivian’s new exhibition The Mary Rose: People and Purpose. Discover fascinating facts and sinister secrets about life on board this infamous boat in a series of workshops including animated theatre and creating your own Tudor play, digging for buried treasure, building a 3-Dimensional open world and designing and racing your own Tudor-themed self-propelled motor boats. You will need to keep your eyes peeled for clues on our Mary Rose themed gallery trail - find them all to discover the hidden secrets of the Mary Rose! With talks, performances, dress up and wandering minstrels this is going to be a day you will not want to miss.
This new exhibition provides an insight into the innovative design and global context of the famous ship. It explores the ship’s innovative design, Welsh connections and new scientific research through a variety of objects, including longbows, arrows, bowls, and shoes, which gives us a unique insight into Tudor history.
Led by: Dr Nick Owen, Dr Catherine Fletcher and Professor David Britton
Venue: Glynn Vivian Art Gallery. Event Partner: Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, the Mary Rose Trust, Oriel Science, the Cultural Institute and the College of Engineering, Swansea University.
18 November: 10:00-12:00: 'The Climate's Hidden History' (Welsh Medium Schools Event)
Come and discover the hidden secrets of the planet, found in the depths of the ice fields, with Professor Siwan Davies, an international expert on Climate Change and the Head of Swansea University’s Geography Department. After you’ve had a chance to see the evidence for climate change first hand in the laboratory, poet Grug Muse will lead a poetry workshop which will respond to these discoveries about the past and future of the Earth.
Led by: Professor Siwan Davies and Grug Muse
Venue: Margam Building, Singleton Campus. Event Partners: Swansea Museum
18 November: 19:00-20:00: 'Becoming Human: Pinocchio Retold'
Becoming Human – Pinocchio Retold tells the story of the world's most famous puppet, set against the demands and prerogatives of modern Western society. Following his footsteps from birth to adulthood, we are invited to see through his eyes what it means to become socialised. Though Pinocchio is shaped in mind and body to fit into society, as an individual he still struggles to find meaning, love, and identity. This tragicomedy takes an unflinching look at social values and structures, while inviting the audience to laugh and be mesmerised by a caravan of characters (all played by Muzzioli and Soinila). The play poses questions about what makes up our core identity as humans and how we can deal with modern life - questions that Pinocchio grapples with throughout the play, and eventually comes to terms with.
The central theme of Becoming Human – Pinocchio Retold is a journey of self-discovery, where the secrets of Pinocchio’s true self are revealed.
Led by: Dr Ian Rutt (Director of Music), Alice Muzzioli and Inari Soinila (writers/performers) and Atillio Zilli (sound design)
Venue: Volcano Theatre Event Partner: Volcano Theatre
19 November: 19:00-20:00: 'The Panic Room: Werewolves and Sherlock'
Life is lived through half-truths, entrapment, lies, decoding, escape and discovery of truths. The complex and unreliable code of Werewolf child terrorists and the work of Sherlock Holmes offer a unique insight into the human psyche. In a panel discussion, with simulated ‘panic room’, we will uncover the secret plans of Hitler’s Werewolf and the brilliance of Sherlock Holmes.
Led by: Dr Anne Lauppe-Dunbar and Dr Nicko Vaughan
Venue: Swansea Museum. Event Partner: Swansea Museum
20 November: 19:00-20:30: 'Now I Become Myself: a woman's voice in music and poetry'
Welsh composer Rhian Samuel will talk about her life as a composer of classical music in the USA and the UK, from a time when women composers were an extreme rarity to today when they are much more prevalent. In what ways may this change have enriched our culture? She will be aided by Siân Dicker (soprano) and Kristal Tunnicliffe (piano), who will perform Cerddi Hynafol (Ancient Songs), settings of three medieval Welsh texts apparently by women, and the song ‘Before Dawn’, set to a poem, ‘Mourning to Do’, by American May Sarton
Venue: The Great Hall, Swansea University. Event Partners: The Richard Burton Centre
23 November: 14:00-16:00: ‘Enter the Chamber of Secrets'
Do you dare to enter our chamber of secrets? Join us for a family fun day, including:
- ‘Opening the Chamber of Secrets’ – writing mystery and storytelling chains, with two master-narratives – ‘Secrets of the Sea’ and ‘The Buried Past’ (Suitable for children up to the age of 12)
- ‘The Secrets of Ancient Egypt’ – discover mummification, the secrets of hieroglyphs, the ancient game of Senet and real Egyptian artefacts
- ‘Discovering your digital story’ - create your own 2-min digital narrative! (Please bring along your Android smartphone/tablet
Led by: Dr Geraldine Lublin, Dr Alan Bilton, Dr Anne Lauppe-Dunbar and Hannah Sweetapple
Venue: Taliesin Create, Taliesin Arts Centre
'Swansea's Big Book Find'
Join us for our family-friendly book hunt across the city of Swansea from Saturday 16th November! In the run up to our University’s 100th birthday, we’ll be hiding one hundred books where you’ll least expect to find them. Finders, keepers! Each book will also contain a special message! And when they’re gone, they’re gone!
'Rediscovering Swansea: a new exhibition' - 14-23 November
Join us for a new family-friendly exhibition where you will have an opportunity to rediscover your city!
- Learn about the Vivian family, who came from Cornwall, and their life at in Singleton Abbey
- Find out about the copperworks at the heart of Swansea life
- Celebrate Swansea University’s forthcoming centenary in 2020 with a glimpse at its history
Venue: Swansea University Singleton Campus Library
