:00:10. > :00:15.100 years ago this September one of the world's best love authors was
:00:16. > :00:23.born right here in Cardiff. None other than the fantastic Mr Roald
:00:24. > :00:31.Dahl. Generations of children and adults have been mesmerised by Roald
:00:32. > :00:33.Dahl's literary creations and to celebrate his centenary, National
:00:34. > :00:39.Theatre Wales and Wales Millennium Centre have come together to produce
:00:40. > :00:44.a two-day citywide spectacle entitled the City of the Unexpected.
:00:45. > :00:45.I'd taking a sneaky peek behind the scenes as Cardiff prepares to be
:00:46. > :00:59.sprinkled by a touch of magic. If you make your way to Cardiff city
:01:00. > :01:07.centre on the weekend of September 17-18, prepare to be amazed. With
:01:08. > :01:11.over 75 events staged across public spaces and at iconic buildings,
:01:12. > :01:17.entire streets will be closed off as thousands of performers bring the
:01:18. > :01:20.city to a standstill with jaw-dropping Dahl inspired
:01:21. > :01:27.spectacles. Events are all free of charge. Roald Dahl's books rowing up
:01:28. > :01:31.a huge inspiration for me. The fact he is being celebrated on such a
:01:32. > :01:34.huge scale is an amazing thing and I'm happy to play a small part in
:01:35. > :01:44.these celebrations. In true Roald Dahl spile, -- style, anything can
:01:45. > :01:47.happen. An update now on those unexpected weather systems and the
:01:48. > :01:53.incidence of rhyming disease they've been causing across Wales. From
:01:54. > :01:58.impromptu performances to a huge pillow fight on Bute Park. Anyone
:01:59. > :02:03.and everyone is invited to take part in weird and wonderful events. For
:02:04. > :02:06.two days we can expect the whole city to be turned upside down as if
:02:07. > :02:13.Roald Dahl was up there in the sky pulling the strings of the city
:02:14. > :02:18.creating mischief, mayhem, magic but certainly most of all the
:02:19. > :02:20.unexpected. This ambitious collaboration between National
:02:21. > :02:25.Theatre Wales and the Wales Millennium Centre has been two years
:02:26. > :02:29.in the making and I have come to meet Graham Barrow from the
:02:30. > :02:34.millennium Centre to find out more about the origins of the City of the
:02:35. > :02:37.Unexpected. When you ask people, even people from Cardiff, lots of
:02:38. > :02:42.people don't realise he was born here so partly was about trying to
:02:43. > :02:47.reclaim first Waqar is one of us. We are used to have big sporting events
:02:48. > :02:51.like the Rugby World Cup in Cardiff but I'm not sure there's ever been
:02:52. > :02:56.at some creative event that has stopped the city and its tracks. The
:02:57. > :03:02.team have called on the expertise of renowned theatre director Nigel
:03:03. > :03:10.Jamieson from Sydney Australia. Having directed many large-scale
:03:11. > :03:14.events, including the Olympics, the project is incapable hands. We had a
:03:15. > :03:19.list of people we wanted to direct it and Nigel Jamieson was at the
:03:20. > :03:25.top, our number one choice. In terms of outdoor spectacles, he is the
:03:26. > :03:32.man. When we bagged him, we thought, we have got the makings of something
:03:33. > :03:36.here. Director Nigel Jamieson 's track record is certainly
:03:37. > :03:40.impressive. With rehearsals well underway, I managed to track him
:03:41. > :03:45.down at Cardiff's Civic Centre to learn more about his vision. We had
:03:46. > :03:48.the idea that what would it be like if Roald Dahl was sitting up there
:03:49. > :03:52.in the sky and we suddenly said we going to hand you... If he was to be
:03:53. > :04:00.given the reins. If he was the puppeteer. The puppeteers are two
:04:01. > :04:04.days and the laws of physics and everything were thrown up in the
:04:05. > :04:07.air. We would see lots of characters and themes we recognise that most of
:04:08. > :04:14.all, it is what would he do today if he had a chance to play with 350,000
:04:15. > :04:21.people of Cardiff, all these wonderful buildings, parks. What
:04:22. > :04:27.Julia to the project given -- what drew you to the project? It is a
:04:28. > :04:31.singularly fantastic idea for an event. The idea of playing with the
:04:32. > :04:36.whole city, rather than a stadium or theatre, we hope to put on an event
:04:37. > :04:40.that no one has ever seen in the world. I'm working with an amazing
:04:41. > :04:48.team of directors, composers, artists, designers. I'm having to
:04:49. > :04:52.keep all the good things hidden! Not quite, because I've got an access
:04:53. > :04:57.all areas pass and I'm not afraid to use it. The first place I'm heading
:04:58. > :05:01.is to the show's costume department. With so many costumes to make from
:05:02. > :05:07.scratch, their team has certainly got their work cut out. I know
:05:08. > :05:15.you're busy this afternoon, what is on the agenda? We are working on our
:05:16. > :05:24.insects. We are cutting, stitching, glueing things. Dan, a la designer,
:05:25. > :05:29.as the main job, he has to design or these beautiful costumes and then it
:05:30. > :05:32.is our job to realise them and make sure they are something someone can
:05:33. > :05:39.wear what performing individual skills. What is keeping you busy?
:05:40. > :05:45.I'm making the waistcoat for Mr Fox. It is made of the brightly coloured
:05:46. > :05:48.fabric. It's a kind of English country gentlemen feel. The
:05:49. > :05:54.waistcoat, trousers and striped shirt. Very dapper! And very bright
:05:55. > :05:57.colour so he stands out from the crowd because he will do a lot of
:05:58. > :06:08.different activities. I hope it fits. Need to! -- me to! Though it
:06:09. > :06:11.is just a costume, I'm keeping my distance if that is OK. Took me
:06:12. > :06:18.through the spider outfit. The insect costumes get lifted by a
:06:19. > :06:21.crane so we have these harnesses the need to be one underneath them.
:06:22. > :06:28.They'll soon need to be able to walk through doorways. The lyrics are all
:06:29. > :06:34.movable. So it makes it a lot smaller. -- the Lairds. It isn't
:06:35. > :06:37.just making a pretty dress. You have to think about what the performers
:06:38. > :06:42.are doing, whether that is sitting on the floor or doing a backflip
:06:43. > :06:48.will actually getting lifted by a crane. Though details of the show
:06:49. > :06:53.are kept tightly under wraps, we can expect allsorts performances
:06:54. > :06:56.inspired by Dahl's colourful characters to pop up unexpectedly
:06:57. > :07:03.during the weekend including some larger than life creepy crawlies.
:07:04. > :07:09.With the aim of getting as many people as possible involved in the
:07:10. > :07:13.celebrations, the organisers have been staging creative workshops
:07:14. > :07:17.around Cardiff. At the library I caught up with children from the
:07:18. > :07:22.local area who were getting ready to make jeans come true, just like
:07:23. > :07:28.Roald Dahl's much loved character the BFG. One of the things the Big
:07:29. > :07:32.Friendly Giant does is he captures dreams in a cave and he puts them
:07:33. > :07:35.into jars and then he takes them to children all over the world and he
:07:36. > :07:41.blows them into their ear to make sure they have lovely dreams and not
:07:42. > :07:52.horrible ones. Taking inspiration from Dahl's book, she is helping
:07:53. > :08:01.youngsters create dreams and dream jars. We've got some lovely objects
:08:02. > :08:14.to put in your dream jars. With all this fun going on, I couldn't resist
:08:15. > :08:19.joining in. Good job. What is the aim of this workshop? It's a great
:08:20. > :08:24.opportunity for children to be involved in the weekend and have
:08:25. > :08:30.fun. They can use their imagination a bit and celebrate Roald Dahl's
:08:31. > :08:37.work. Took me three or dream jar. It is about dinosaurs. A good dream or
:08:38. > :08:45.a bad dream? A good dream. My full ways wanted to see a dinosaur. It is
:08:46. > :08:50.like Jurassic Park in a jar. The dream jar with dinosaurs having fun
:08:51. > :08:57.on holiday. That is amazing. Stegosaurus is standing upside down
:08:58. > :09:02.having a little sleep in the tree. Because that is what they do. With
:09:03. > :09:09.pterodactyls flying backwards on his tummy. That's a dream would all like
:09:10. > :09:13.to have. With some simple props and an empty dream jar, the kids have
:09:14. > :09:18.allowed their imagination to run wild which is exactly what Roald
:09:19. > :09:24.Dahl is all about. It has been a BFG dream come true. The finished dream
:09:25. > :09:28.jars will take pride of place in Bute Park on Sunday where everyone
:09:29. > :09:32.is invited to whether pyjamas and joining The Great Pyjama Picnic. And
:09:33. > :09:43.prizes will be awarded for the best feasts. Over at the Cardiff Central
:09:44. > :09:47.youth club, a group of voluntary community performers are being put
:09:48. > :09:53.through their paces by Nigel. In a line, keep it moving! They are
:09:54. > :09:57.playing the part of the no-nonsense killjoys, the Ministry of the
:09:58. > :10:02.predictable. What the hell is going on over here? Face that way. This
:10:03. > :10:07.group is going to be responsible for keeping order in the city. They are
:10:08. > :10:11.in charge of all the different codes and orders. They have thousands of
:10:12. > :10:15.kilometres of hazard tape to place and they are desperately trying to
:10:16. > :10:20.keep control. But like you all to take a pencil out of your left-hand
:10:21. > :10:26.pocket and lived it up a little. And blew it because you kept it to the
:10:27. > :10:29.finest point that you can. He is helping us move around and be stern
:10:30. > :10:37.and writing notes and everything. Then you will stick it on to the
:10:38. > :10:41.front of the camera without... And proper health and safety job,
:10:42. > :10:48.really! The minister says... Runaround. Go! Stop! No! We often
:10:49. > :10:58.use games, simple games to get the energy going. Runaround, go! Stop!
:10:59. > :11:05.Let's go! Then focus on the drama, in this case, Simon says. That was
:11:06. > :11:12.really, really fun. We were getting to work together as a unit. I'm
:11:13. > :11:15.looking forward to it. Stop! No! Nigel is mental but perfect for this
:11:16. > :11:26.sort of thing. Absolutely amazing working with him. Are you ready?
:11:27. > :11:31.Let's move. Theatrical event on this scale needs all sorts of props and
:11:32. > :11:35.sets to help tell the story and draw the story and so I've come to the
:11:36. > :11:38.Royal Welsh College of music and drama's scenic workshop to meet the
:11:39. > :11:45.team responsible for these all-important elements. You are busy
:11:46. > :11:50.painting. You're the assistant designer. How many props are you
:11:51. > :11:54.making? In all, there are thousands because there are so many people
:11:55. > :11:59.involved. And different set for different books? There are certain
:12:00. > :12:03.storylines we will follow. Some are secret. It's all under wraps, I love
:12:04. > :12:14.it! Is this the biggest event you worked on? Yes. And the mistrustful?
:12:15. > :12:23.Yes! -- the most stressful. We give me a guided tour? Yes. What is this?
:12:24. > :12:27.This is one of our polar explorer sledgers. We'll have two in the end,
:12:28. > :12:32.a Norwegian one and a British one and they are not to his past of
:12:33. > :12:35.Roald Dahl being Norwegian. It is covered in some fake fur that we
:12:36. > :12:39.have painted down to look like they are covered in snow with lots of
:12:40. > :12:45.different fabrics. This looks like an icicle, maybe? We have been
:12:46. > :12:51.making icicles to add on and these are made from a glue gun. The team
:12:52. > :12:55.has sourced allsorts of props to make everything as realistic as
:12:56. > :13:01.possible. The attention to detail is impressive. If you are in the
:13:02. > :13:09.Arctic, you need a cup of tea. Of course! This is the British one.
:13:10. > :13:16.We have a Fantastic Mr Fox here and his family. This is Mr Fox, his wife
:13:17. > :13:20.and two children. These are masks that will be worn by performers so
:13:21. > :13:24.you have to spot them during the day. They will get allsorts of
:13:25. > :13:30.mischief. What are they made of? They aren't casting moulds that you
:13:31. > :13:36.can see here. This is one part that has come out, his nose. It is
:13:37. > :13:44.covered in fabric and then cut back. That is the fun bit, isn't it? Yes.
:13:45. > :13:50.Can I try one on? Full the front down and over. Can you see three?
:13:51. > :14:02.Is folksy lady! -- foxy. The props dotted around the workshop are
:14:03. > :14:07.straight from the pages of Roald Dahl's books as every day materials
:14:08. > :14:12.are turned into works of art. Today, they're turning tennis balls into
:14:13. > :14:18.peaches for an all-important banqueting scene. We are putting
:14:19. > :14:25.paint on it to give it more texture and colour. Do you want to have a
:14:26. > :14:32.go? It's a very yellow peach. I'm not sure that's right! Did you take
:14:33. > :14:35.inspiration from real peaches? Yes, we have real peaches we're using the
:14:36. > :14:39.colours from. There are loads of different components we aim to get
:14:40. > :14:44.involved in and our job is really fun, we get to do a lot of painting,
:14:45. > :14:49.glueing, sewing, there is a lot of different elements. This looks
:14:50. > :14:55.incredibly small considering that Roald Dahl is famously known for the
:14:56. > :15:02.giant Peach. This is quite big, this is bigger, but will we be seeing a
:15:03. > :15:10.Giant Peach? You'll have to come and see. I was grateful for the tour but
:15:11. > :15:13.with the weekend fast approaching, it's back to work. The next stop is
:15:14. > :15:27.something that is right up my street.
:15:28. > :15:37.You have composed of three new pieces for the show. It is an
:15:38. > :15:41.honour. I grew up reading all of Roald Dahl's children's books and
:15:42. > :15:47.that is something really nice in my old age, my 30s, to pay tribute to
:15:48. > :15:51.that man and his characters, getting to write music and lyrics to it is
:15:52. > :15:57.really nice. As he hear what he was, how do you begin channelling that
:15:58. > :16:07.wonderful imagination? He's got a vocabulary, is language is very
:16:08. > :16:16.magical, he has words like whizzpopping. I'm having a lot of
:16:17. > :16:23.fun with that. Hopefully the music suggests a sense of magic and
:16:24. > :16:28.otherworldly and the unexpected. Who's going to be singing this magic
:16:29. > :16:32.on the day? We've got lots of children's quires and community
:16:33. > :16:39.choirs who are going to be singing the songs, so that in itself is such
:16:40. > :16:52.a privilege. I can't wait to hear it. Keeping everything harmonious on
:16:53. > :16:57.the day is music supervisor David Marney. It's a very exciting
:16:58. > :17:01.opportunity and one of the most ambitious project I've ever been
:17:02. > :17:05.involved with. We're looking at about 3000 musicians throughout the
:17:06. > :17:15.weekend, so new to us all. In addition to established quires, --
:17:16. > :17:26.choirs, the project gives anyone the opportunity to take part and perform
:17:27. > :17:31.the new music. And at the end of the weekend, the entire cast will come
:17:32. > :17:46.together to perform his new anthem, title-mac thank you, Cardiff.
:17:47. > :17:55.You'll have to come at the weekend to see the rest of it. Unexpected
:17:56. > :18:04.pleasures in Cardiff, that's the excitement. I was a huge file of
:18:05. > :18:08.Roald Dahl's books, the BFG, James the giant Peach, Charlie and the
:18:09. > :18:14.factory, the list is endless and I cannot believe the man who brought
:18:15. > :18:22.all these characters to life grew up in the village next to me. Roald
:18:23. > :18:27.Dahl was born to Norwegian parents on the 3rd of September, 1916, and
:18:28. > :18:34.was baptised in the Norwegian Church. They moved to Cumberland
:18:35. > :18:45.Lodge following the death of his father and sister. A very important
:18:46. > :18:52.figure was Joss Spivvis, we don't know anything about him other than
:18:53. > :18:55.his name was Jones and he was a previous Rhondda miner. He used to
:18:56. > :18:59.tell Roald Dahl terrible stories of when he went down the mine and that
:19:00. > :19:04.comes back in interesting ways in Roald Dahl's description of the
:19:05. > :19:09.giant elevator. They are described in exactly the same ways, so at the
:19:10. > :19:15.heart of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory is a Rhondda minor's
:19:16. > :19:20.experience. This blue plaque marks the four sweet shop where he used to
:19:21. > :19:27.buy his sweets during his time at school which is well documented in
:19:28. > :19:31.his autobiography, Boy. They played a trick on the miserable sweet shop
:19:32. > :19:37.owner Mrs Pratchett by putting a dead mouse into a jug of -- jar of
:19:38. > :19:45.gobstoppers. They didn't get away with it and they were trained by the
:19:46. > :19:50.headmaster as punishment. In 1925, his mother sent across the Bristol
:19:51. > :19:54.Channel to boarding school in Weston-Super-Mare but his boyhood in
:19:55. > :20:03.Cardiff left a lasting impression. He never used to go to sleep unless
:20:04. > :20:08.he was aligning himself in his bed with Llandaff over the Bristol
:20:09. > :20:12.Channel that Roald Dahl always engaged in and it is my strong
:20:13. > :20:23.belief he was constantly homing back to Wales in his writing.
:20:24. > :20:28.The animal Wall on Castle Street with its serious of animals and
:20:29. > :20:34.gargoyles peering over the castle wall is one of Cardiff's most iconic
:20:35. > :20:39.features, but in keeping with the unexpected theme, where anything can
:20:40. > :20:42.happen, design students from the Royal Welsh College and Trinity
:20:43. > :20:49.College are working on a surprise of their own. They've been tasked with
:20:50. > :20:54.creating their own Roald Dahl inspired animated puppets to sit
:20:55. > :20:56.alongside the existing gargoyles and he's weird and wonderful creatures
:20:57. > :21:06.will delight and surprise the audiences visiting the City of the
:21:07. > :21:09.Unexpected. What are you up to? Obviously Roald Dahl talks about
:21:10. > :21:17.different creatures from other worlds so we have taken those and
:21:18. > :21:21.shuffled them all into one creature. It has these volcano horns that, it
:21:22. > :21:33.is back and then he's got this enormous head which opens up to
:21:34. > :21:37.reveal a little bird. We are puppeteering as well. We are the
:21:38. > :21:41.kids that actually grew up with Roald Dahl's stories, so it is
:21:42. > :21:44.fantastic to be able to channel are childhood imaginations into these
:21:45. > :21:50.creations. It looks like you've got the messy job. It's the best job!
:21:51. > :21:57.You've got to get nice and messy. It's latex. We're covering bits of
:21:58. > :22:03.fabric in it, soaking it in it then applying it, it makes a really good
:22:04. > :22:08.covering. This guy looks like he has an important job. You glueing his
:22:09. > :22:13.head on? I'm using a soldering iron to melt into the shape I want, so
:22:14. > :22:18.this is the head of Bert. He is mainly made out of thermoplastic, so
:22:19. > :22:23.just heat it up and we can ship it into whatever we want. Show me how
:22:24. > :22:28.it will work on the day. We got this frame that will open up on that sits
:22:29. > :22:32.on the top of the wall so he kind of hangs on and this head hangs down.
:22:33. > :22:42.It'll be able to open up and reveal little surprise inside. I love it.
:22:43. > :22:54.Look out for Bert! What's this going to be? It's the bird from The Twits.
:22:55. > :23:06.How does it work on the day? We will have the mother bird sat on top. She
:23:07. > :23:11.will have her wings over like she's asleep, then she will open her wings
:23:12. > :23:20.and she will pick a beat, blinked her eyes and the chicks will pop out
:23:21. > :23:24.of the egg and say hello. This Roald Dahl world is definitely taking
:23:25. > :23:29.shape and with the City of the Unexpected weekend just around the
:23:30. > :23:34.corner, some very strange occurrences are being reported
:23:35. > :23:37.online. Join us at the Riverside farmers market in Cardiff.
:23:38. > :23:43.Eyewitnesses have described what appears to be a human sized fox like
:23:44. > :23:46.figure enjoying the organic and home-made produce heat on the
:23:47. > :23:52.market. We got a member of the ministry here today. Maybe we can
:23:53. > :23:59.get some comments. No. Something seems to be happening. Let's get
:24:00. > :24:03.this! I went to meet Matt Wright, digital designer for the online
:24:04. > :24:09.content to find out more. We've created a really playful in world
:24:10. > :24:12.Roald Dahl News website called the Bulletin, which provides a bit of
:24:13. > :24:20.background content. If you're going to be there, you can actually
:24:21. > :24:23.download an app we have created, so if there is something really
:24:24. > :24:25.exciting happening over there and you are back here today bit
:24:26. > :24:31.confused, you'll get a message coming through that tells you where
:24:32. > :24:37.the sighting is happening. So you're signposting of these exciting
:24:38. > :24:41.things? Exactly. There's some stuff on the website to see all ready,
:24:42. > :24:50.isn't there? There is a selection of beautifully written stories. It also
:24:51. > :24:58.suggests where a large food might appear -- fruit! We've also been
:24:59. > :25:13.making nice video content. We worked with Derek Brockley. He forecasted
:25:14. > :25:23.the weather in a very Roald Dahl we! -- way. If you're there during the
:25:24. > :25:29.day, more information, how can you get involved? Either on your phone
:25:30. > :25:38.or tablet, do you search for City of the Unexpected and all will be
:25:39. > :25:49.revealed... Or not! There's no denying that this is an event on a
:25:50. > :25:54.scale really seem in Wales -- seen. Down at this high school, the team
:25:55. > :25:57.are rehearsing a particularly tricky set piece. The police have been
:25:58. > :26:01.involved in the planning from the start, but Nigel has roped in
:26:02. > :26:09.members of the public services into helping out and as per usual,
:26:10. > :26:14.everything is top secret. We are rehearsing for the opening scene of
:26:15. > :26:22.our event. We got fire engines, we got police, we've got all sorts to
:26:23. > :26:31.cope with the very serious, dangerous thing that's going to
:26:32. > :26:34.happen. We will treated exactly as we would leave real emergency. We
:26:35. > :26:47.will work with the police force. I can't really say too much. Police,
:26:48. > :26:52.let's move in a little bit, that's for a cauldron around it. Director
:26:53. > :26:57.Nigel must only action skills of all involved to make the scene as
:26:58. > :27:08.realistic as dramatic as possible. You're not at a picnic, a few at a
:27:09. > :27:14.national disaster! -- you're at! What would be the next procedure if
:27:15. > :27:26.it was radioactive? We can evacuate the immediate area. Congratulations,
:27:27. > :27:30.we got the Oscar polished down here. I think the performing arts must sit
:27:31. > :27:35.in the heart of the Welsh people and certainly the public services, who
:27:36. > :27:40.had an important part of this scene -- who are an important part. True
:27:41. > :27:44.to its title, City of the Unexpected will keep the visitors to Cardiff on
:27:45. > :27:48.their toes as they enjoy some Roald Dahl magic and mayhem on the very
:27:49. > :27:54.streets of this city that made him. After two years of planning and
:27:55. > :27:58.months of designing, creating an rehearsing, all that's left to do is
:27:59. > :28:04.to add some final finishing touches. We are all a little bit weary, but
:28:05. > :28:09.very excited. Fingers crossed. As long as we don't get hit with too
:28:10. > :28:13.many unexpected events from the heavens, I think we possibly got
:28:14. > :28:18.something that people will remember, hopefully, for a long time. The last
:28:19. > :28:24.few details are being put in place. I just can't wait for this magical
:28:25. > :28:28.celebration to unfold. I'll be back next Wednesday at 7:30pm to bring
:28:29. > :28:31.you all of the highlights. Remember, you can get life update sent
:28:32. > :28:36.straight to your phone by visiting the City of the Unexpected website.
:28:37. > :28:38.One thing is for sure, it's going to be an unmissable weekend and we can
:28:39. > :29:07.expect the unexpected! Hello, I'm Tina Daheley
:29:08. > :29:11.with your 90 second update. Today, nurse Pauline Cafferkey
:29:12. > :29:14.has been cleared of misconduct.