Episode 1 Roald Dahl's City of the Unexpected


Episode 1

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Episode 1. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

100 years ago this September one of the world's best love authors was

:00:10.:00:15.

born right here in Cardiff. None other than the fantastic Mr Roald

:00:16.:00:23.

Dahl. Generations of children and adults have been mesmerised by Roald

:00:24.:00:31.

Dahl's literary creations and to celebrate his centenary, National

:00:32.:00:33.

Theatre Wales and Wales Millennium Centre have come together to produce

:00:34.:00:39.

a two-day citywide spectacle entitled the City of the Unexpected.

:00:40.:00:44.

I'd taking a sneaky peek behind the scenes as Cardiff prepares to be

:00:45.:00:45.

sprinkled by a touch of magic. If you make your way to Cardiff city

:00:46.:00:59.

centre on the weekend of September 17-18, prepare to be amazed. With

:01:00.:01:07.

over 75 events staged across public spaces and at iconic buildings,

:01:08.:01:11.

entire streets will be closed off as thousands of performers bring the

:01:12.:01:17.

city to a standstill with jaw-dropping Dahl inspired

:01:18.:01:20.

spectacles. Events are all free of charge. Roald Dahl's books rowing up

:01:21.:01:27.

a huge inspiration for me. The fact he is being celebrated on such a

:01:28.:01:31.

huge scale is an amazing thing and I'm happy to play a small part in

:01:32.:01:34.

these celebrations. In true Roald Dahl spile, -- style, anything can

:01:35.:01:44.

happen. An update now on those unexpected weather systems and the

:01:45.:01:47.

incidence of rhyming disease they've been causing across Wales. From

:01:48.:01:53.

impromptu performances to a huge pillow fight on Bute Park. Anyone

:01:54.:01:58.

and everyone is invited to take part in weird and wonderful events. For

:01:59.:02:03.

two days we can expect the whole city to be turned upside down as if

:02:04.:02:06.

Roald Dahl was up there in the sky pulling the strings of the city

:02:07.:02:13.

creating mischief, mayhem, magic but certainly most of all the

:02:14.:02:18.

unexpected. This ambitious collaboration between National

:02:19.:02:20.

Theatre Wales and the Wales Millennium Centre has been two years

:02:21.:02:25.

in the making and I have come to meet Graham Barrow from the

:02:26.:02:29.

millennium Centre to find out more about the origins of the City of the

:02:30.:02:34.

Unexpected. When you ask people, even people from Cardiff, lots of

:02:35.:02:37.

people don't realise he was born here so partly was about trying to

:02:38.:02:42.

reclaim first Waqar is one of us. We are used to have big sporting events

:02:43.:02:47.

like the Rugby World Cup in Cardiff but I'm not sure there's ever been

:02:48.:02:51.

at some creative event that has stopped the city and its tracks. The

:02:52.:02:56.

team have called on the expertise of renowned theatre director Nigel

:02:57.:03:02.

Jamieson from Sydney Australia. Having directed many large-scale

:03:03.:03:10.

events, including the Olympics, the project is incapable hands. We had a

:03:11.:03:14.

list of people we wanted to direct it and Nigel Jamieson was at the

:03:15.:03:19.

top, our number one choice. In terms of outdoor spectacles, he is the

:03:20.:03:25.

man. When we bagged him, we thought, we have got the makings of something

:03:26.:03:32.

here. Director Nigel Jamieson 's track record is certainly

:03:33.:03:36.

impressive. With rehearsals well underway, I managed to track him

:03:37.:03:40.

down at Cardiff's Civic Centre to learn more about his vision. We had

:03:41.:03:45.

the idea that what would it be like if Roald Dahl was sitting up there

:03:46.:03:48.

in the sky and we suddenly said we going to hand you... If he was to be

:03:49.:03:52.

given the reins. If he was the puppeteer. The puppeteers are two

:03:53.:04:00.

days and the laws of physics and everything were thrown up in the

:04:01.:04:04.

air. We would see lots of characters and themes we recognise that most of

:04:05.:04:07.

all, it is what would he do today if he had a chance to play with 350,000

:04:08.:04:14.

people of Cardiff, all these wonderful buildings, parks. What

:04:15.:04:21.

Julia to the project given -- what drew you to the project? It is a

:04:22.:04:27.

singularly fantastic idea for an event. The idea of playing with the

:04:28.:04:31.

whole city, rather than a stadium or theatre, we hope to put on an event

:04:32.:04:36.

that no one has ever seen in the world. I'm working with an amazing

:04:37.:04:40.

team of directors, composers, artists, designers. I'm having to

:04:41.:04:48.

keep all the good things hidden! Not quite, because I've got an access

:04:49.:04:52.

all areas pass and I'm not afraid to use it. The first place I'm heading

:04:53.:04:57.

is to the show's costume department. With so many costumes to make from

:04:58.:05:01.

scratch, their team has certainly got their work cut out. I know

:05:02.:05:07.

you're busy this afternoon, what is on the agenda? We are working on our

:05:08.:05:15.

insects. We are cutting, stitching, glueing things. Dan, a la designer,

:05:16.:05:24.

as the main job, he has to design or these beautiful costumes and then it

:05:25.:05:29.

is our job to realise them and make sure they are something someone can

:05:30.:05:32.

wear what performing individual skills. What is keeping you busy?

:05:33.:05:39.

I'm making the waistcoat for Mr Fox. It is made of the brightly coloured

:05:40.:05:45.

fabric. It's a kind of English country gentlemen feel. The

:05:46.:05:48.

waistcoat, trousers and striped shirt. Very dapper! And very bright

:05:49.:05:54.

colour so he stands out from the crowd because he will do a lot of

:05:55.:05:57.

different activities. I hope it fits. Need to! -- me to! Though it

:05:58.:06:08.

is just a costume, I'm keeping my distance if that is OK. Took me

:06:09.:06:11.

through the spider outfit. The insect costumes get lifted by a

:06:12.:06:18.

crane so we have these harnesses the need to be one underneath them.

:06:19.:06:21.

They'll soon need to be able to walk through doorways. The lyrics are all

:06:22.:06:28.

movable. So it makes it a lot smaller. -- the Lairds. It isn't

:06:29.:06:34.

just making a pretty dress. You have to think about what the performers

:06:35.:06:37.

are doing, whether that is sitting on the floor or doing a backflip

:06:38.:06:42.

will actually getting lifted by a crane. Though details of the show

:06:43.:06:48.

are kept tightly under wraps, we can expect allsorts performances

:06:49.:06:53.

inspired by Dahl's colourful characters to pop up unexpectedly

:06:54.:06:56.

during the weekend including some larger than life creepy crawlies.

:06:57.:07:03.

With the aim of getting as many people as possible involved in the

:07:04.:07:09.

celebrations, the organisers have been staging creative workshops

:07:10.:07:13.

around Cardiff. At the library I caught up with children from the

:07:14.:07:17.

local area who were getting ready to make jeans come true, just like

:07:18.:07:22.

Roald Dahl's much loved character the BFG. One of the things the Big

:07:23.:07:28.

Friendly Giant does is he captures dreams in a cave and he puts them

:07:29.:07:32.

into jars and then he takes them to children all over the world and he

:07:33.:07:35.

blows them into their ear to make sure they have lovely dreams and not

:07:36.:07:41.

horrible ones. Taking inspiration from Dahl's book, she is helping

:07:42.:07:52.

youngsters create dreams and dream jars. We've got some lovely objects

:07:53.:08:01.

to put in your dream jars. With all this fun going on, I couldn't resist

:08:02.:08:14.

joining in. Good job. What is the aim of this workshop? It's a great

:08:15.:08:19.

opportunity for children to be involved in the weekend and have

:08:20.:08:24.

fun. They can use their imagination a bit and celebrate Roald Dahl's

:08:25.:08:30.

work. Took me three or dream jar. It is about dinosaurs. A good dream or

:08:31.:08:37.

a bad dream? A good dream. My full ways wanted to see a dinosaur. It is

:08:38.:08:45.

like Jurassic Park in a jar. The dream jar with dinosaurs having fun

:08:46.:08:50.

on holiday. That is amazing. Stegosaurus is standing upside down

:08:51.:08:57.

having a little sleep in the tree. Because that is what they do. With

:08:58.:09:02.

pterodactyls flying backwards on his tummy. That's a dream would all like

:09:03.:09:09.

to have. With some simple props and an empty dream jar, the kids have

:09:10.:09:13.

allowed their imagination to run wild which is exactly what Roald

:09:14.:09:18.

Dahl is all about. It has been a BFG dream come true. The finished dream

:09:19.:09:24.

jars will take pride of place in Bute Park on Sunday where everyone

:09:25.:09:28.

is invited to whether pyjamas and joining The Great Pyjama Picnic. And

:09:29.:09:32.

prizes will be awarded for the best feasts. Over at the Cardiff Central

:09:33.:09:43.

youth club, a group of voluntary community performers are being put

:09:44.:09:47.

through their paces by Nigel. In a line, keep it moving! They are

:09:48.:09:53.

playing the part of the no-nonsense killjoys, the Ministry of the

:09:54.:09:57.

predictable. What the hell is going on over here? Face that way. This

:09:58.:10:02.

group is going to be responsible for keeping order in the city. They are

:10:03.:10:07.

in charge of all the different codes and orders. They have thousands of

:10:08.:10:11.

kilometres of hazard tape to place and they are desperately trying to

:10:12.:10:15.

keep control. But like you all to take a pencil out of your left-hand

:10:16.:10:20.

pocket and lived it up a little. And blew it because you kept it to the

:10:21.:10:26.

finest point that you can. He is helping us move around and be stern

:10:27.:10:29.

and writing notes and everything. Then you will stick it on to the

:10:30.:10:37.

front of the camera without... And proper health and safety job,

:10:38.:10:41.

really! The minister says... Runaround. Go! Stop! No! We often

:10:42.:10:48.

use games, simple games to get the energy going. Runaround, go! Stop!

:10:49.:10:58.

Let's go! Then focus on the drama, in this case, Simon says. That was

:10:59.:11:05.

really, really fun. We were getting to work together as a unit. I'm

:11:06.:11:12.

looking forward to it. Stop! No! Nigel is mental but perfect for this

:11:13.:11:15.

sort of thing. Absolutely amazing working with him. Are you ready?

:11:16.:11:26.

Let's move. Theatrical event on this scale needs all sorts of props and

:11:27.:11:31.

sets to help tell the story and draw the story and so I've come to the

:11:32.:11:35.

Royal Welsh College of music and drama's scenic workshop to meet the

:11:36.:11:38.

team responsible for these all-important elements. You are busy

:11:39.:11:45.

painting. You're the assistant designer. How many props are you

:11:46.:11:50.

making? In all, there are thousands because there are so many people

:11:51.:11:54.

involved. And different set for different books? There are certain

:11:55.:11:59.

storylines we will follow. Some are secret. It's all under wraps, I love

:12:00.:12:03.

it! Is this the biggest event you worked on? Yes. And the mistrustful?

:12:04.:12:14.

Yes! -- the most stressful. We give me a guided tour? Yes. What is this?

:12:15.:12:23.

This is one of our polar explorer sledgers. We'll have two in the end,

:12:24.:12:27.

a Norwegian one and a British one and they are not to his past of

:12:28.:12:32.

Roald Dahl being Norwegian. It is covered in some fake fur that we

:12:33.:12:35.

have painted down to look like they are covered in snow with lots of

:12:36.:12:39.

different fabrics. This looks like an icicle, maybe? We have been

:12:40.:12:45.

making icicles to add on and these are made from a glue gun. The team

:12:46.:12:51.

has sourced allsorts of props to make everything as realistic as

:12:52.:12:55.

possible. The attention to detail is impressive. If you are in the

:12:56.:13:01.

Arctic, you need a cup of tea. Of course! This is the British one.

:13:02.:13:09.

We have a Fantastic Mr Fox here and his family. This is Mr Fox, his wife

:13:10.:13:16.

and two children. These are masks that will be worn by performers so

:13:17.:13:20.

you have to spot them during the day. They will get allsorts of

:13:21.:13:24.

mischief. What are they made of? They aren't casting moulds that you

:13:25.:13:30.

can see here. This is one part that has come out, his nose. It is

:13:31.:13:36.

covered in fabric and then cut back. That is the fun bit, isn't it? Yes.

:13:37.:13:44.

Can I try one on? Full the front down and over. Can you see three?

:13:45.:13:50.

Is folksy lady! -- foxy. The props dotted around the workshop are

:13:51.:14:02.

straight from the pages of Roald Dahl's books as every day materials

:14:03.:14:07.

are turned into works of art. Today, they're turning tennis balls into

:14:08.:14:12.

peaches for an all-important banqueting scene. We are putting

:14:13.:14:18.

paint on it to give it more texture and colour. Do you want to have a

:14:19.:14:25.

go? It's a very yellow peach. I'm not sure that's right! Did you take

:14:26.:14:32.

inspiration from real peaches? Yes, we have real peaches we're using the

:14:33.:14:35.

colours from. There are loads of different components we aim to get

:14:36.:14:39.

involved in and our job is really fun, we get to do a lot of painting,

:14:40.:14:44.

glueing, sewing, there is a lot of different elements. This looks

:14:45.:14:49.

incredibly small considering that Roald Dahl is famously known for the

:14:50.:14:55.

giant Peach. This is quite big, this is bigger, but will we be seeing a

:14:56.:15:02.

Giant Peach? You'll have to come and see. I was grateful for the tour but

:15:03.:15:10.

with the weekend fast approaching, it's back to work. The next stop is

:15:11.:15:13.

something that is right up my street.

:15:14.:15:27.

You have composed of three new pieces for the show. It is an

:15:28.:15:37.

honour. I grew up reading all of Roald Dahl's children's books and

:15:38.:15:41.

that is something really nice in my old age, my 30s, to pay tribute to

:15:42.:15:47.

that man and his characters, getting to write music and lyrics to it is

:15:48.:15:51.

really nice. As he hear what he was, how do you begin channelling that

:15:52.:15:57.

wonderful imagination? He's got a vocabulary, is language is very

:15:58.:16:07.

magical, he has words like whizzpopping. I'm having a lot of

:16:08.:16:16.

fun with that. Hopefully the music suggests a sense of magic and

:16:17.:16:23.

otherworldly and the unexpected. Who's going to be singing this magic

:16:24.:16:28.

on the day? We've got lots of children's quires and community

:16:29.:16:32.

choirs who are going to be singing the songs, so that in itself is such

:16:33.:16:39.

a privilege. I can't wait to hear it. Keeping everything harmonious on

:16:40.:16:52.

the day is music supervisor David Marney. It's a very exciting

:16:53.:16:57.

opportunity and one of the most ambitious project I've ever been

:16:58.:17:01.

involved with. We're looking at about 3000 musicians throughout the

:17:02.:17:05.

weekend, so new to us all. In addition to established quires, --

:17:06.:17:15.

choirs, the project gives anyone the opportunity to take part and perform

:17:16.:17:26.

the new music. And at the end of the weekend, the entire cast will come

:17:27.:17:31.

together to perform his new anthem, title-mac thank you, Cardiff.

:17:32.:17:46.

You'll have to come at the weekend to see the rest of it. Unexpected

:17:47.:17:55.

pleasures in Cardiff, that's the excitement. I was a huge file of

:17:56.:18:04.

Roald Dahl's books, the BFG, James the giant Peach, Charlie and the

:18:05.:18:08.

factory, the list is endless and I cannot believe the man who brought

:18:09.:18:14.

all these characters to life grew up in the village next to me. Roald

:18:15.:18:22.

Dahl was born to Norwegian parents on the 3rd of September, 1916, and

:18:23.:18:27.

was baptised in the Norwegian Church. They moved to Cumberland

:18:28.:18:34.

Lodge following the death of his father and sister. A very important

:18:35.:18:45.

figure was Joss Spivvis, we don't know anything about him other than

:18:46.:18:52.

his name was Jones and he was a previous Rhondda miner. He used to

:18:53.:18:55.

tell Roald Dahl terrible stories of when he went down the mine and that

:18:56.:18:59.

comes back in interesting ways in Roald Dahl's description of the

:19:00.:19:04.

giant elevator. They are described in exactly the same ways, so at the

:19:05.:19:09.

heart of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory is a Rhondda minor's

:19:10.:19:15.

experience. This blue plaque marks the four sweet shop where he used to

:19:16.:19:20.

buy his sweets during his time at school which is well documented in

:19:21.:19:27.

his autobiography, Boy. They played a trick on the miserable sweet shop

:19:28.:19:31.

owner Mrs Pratchett by putting a dead mouse into a jug of -- jar of

:19:32.:19:37.

gobstoppers. They didn't get away with it and they were trained by the

:19:38.:19:45.

headmaster as punishment. In 1925, his mother sent across the Bristol

:19:46.:19:50.

Channel to boarding school in Weston-Super-Mare but his boyhood in

:19:51.:19:54.

Cardiff left a lasting impression. He never used to go to sleep unless

:19:55.:20:03.

he was aligning himself in his bed with Llandaff over the Bristol

:20:04.:20:08.

Channel that Roald Dahl always engaged in and it is my strong

:20:09.:20:12.

belief he was constantly homing back to Wales in his writing.

:20:13.:20:23.

The animal Wall on Castle Street with its serious of animals and

:20:24.:20:28.

gargoyles peering over the castle wall is one of Cardiff's most iconic

:20:29.:20:34.

features, but in keeping with the unexpected theme, where anything can

:20:35.:20:39.

happen, design students from the Royal Welsh College and Trinity

:20:40.:20:42.

College are working on a surprise of their own. They've been tasked with

:20:43.:20:49.

creating their own Roald Dahl inspired animated puppets to sit

:20:50.:20:54.

alongside the existing gargoyles and he's weird and wonderful creatures

:20:55.:20:56.

will delight and surprise the audiences visiting the City of the

:20:57.:21:06.

Unexpected. What are you up to? Obviously Roald Dahl talks about

:21:07.:21:09.

different creatures from other worlds so we have taken those and

:21:10.:21:17.

shuffled them all into one creature. It has these volcano horns that, it

:21:18.:21:21.

is back and then he's got this enormous head which opens up to

:21:22.:21:33.

reveal a little bird. We are puppeteering as well. We are the

:21:34.:21:37.

kids that actually grew up with Roald Dahl's stories, so it is

:21:38.:21:41.

fantastic to be able to channel are childhood imaginations into these

:21:42.:21:44.

creations. It looks like you've got the messy job. It's the best job!

:21:45.:21:50.

You've got to get nice and messy. It's latex. We're covering bits of

:21:51.:21:57.

fabric in it, soaking it in it then applying it, it makes a really good

:21:58.:22:03.

covering. This guy looks like he has an important job. You glueing his

:22:04.:22:08.

head on? I'm using a soldering iron to melt into the shape I want, so

:22:09.:22:13.

this is the head of Bert. He is mainly made out of thermoplastic, so

:22:14.:22:18.

just heat it up and we can ship it into whatever we want. Show me how

:22:19.:22:23.

it will work on the day. We got this frame that will open up on that sits

:22:24.:22:28.

on the top of the wall so he kind of hangs on and this head hangs down.

:22:29.:22:32.

It'll be able to open up and reveal little surprise inside. I love it.

:22:33.:22:42.

Look out for Bert! What's this going to be? It's the bird from The Twits.

:22:43.:22:54.

How does it work on the day? We will have the mother bird sat on top. She

:22:55.:23:06.

will have her wings over like she's asleep, then she will open her wings

:23:07.:23:11.

and she will pick a beat, blinked her eyes and the chicks will pop out

:23:12.:23:20.

of the egg and say hello. This Roald Dahl world is definitely taking

:23:21.:23:24.

shape and with the City of the Unexpected weekend just around the

:23:25.:23:29.

corner, some very strange occurrences are being reported

:23:30.:23:34.

online. Join us at the Riverside farmers market in Cardiff.

:23:35.:23:37.

Eyewitnesses have described what appears to be a human sized fox like

:23:38.:23:43.

figure enjoying the organic and home-made produce heat on the

:23:44.:23:46.

market. We got a member of the ministry here today. Maybe we can

:23:47.:23:52.

get some comments. No. Something seems to be happening. Let's get

:23:53.:23:59.

this! I went to meet Matt Wright, digital designer for the online

:24:00.:24:03.

content to find out more. We've created a really playful in world

:24:04.:24:09.

Roald Dahl News website called the Bulletin, which provides a bit of

:24:10.:24:12.

background content. If you're going to be there, you can actually

:24:13.:24:20.

download an app we have created, so if there is something really

:24:21.:24:23.

exciting happening over there and you are back here today bit

:24:24.:24:25.

confused, you'll get a message coming through that tells you where

:24:26.:24:31.

the sighting is happening. So you're signposting of these exciting

:24:32.:24:37.

things? Exactly. There's some stuff on the website to see all ready,

:24:38.:24:41.

isn't there? There is a selection of beautifully written stories. It also

:24:42.:24:50.

suggests where a large food might appear -- fruit! We've also been

:24:51.:24:58.

making nice video content. We worked with Derek Brockley. He forecasted

:24:59.:25:13.

the weather in a very Roald Dahl we! -- way. If you're there during the

:25:14.:25:23.

day, more information, how can you get involved? Either on your phone

:25:24.:25:29.

or tablet, do you search for City of the Unexpected and all will be

:25:30.:25:38.

revealed... Or not! There's no denying that this is an event on a

:25:39.:25:49.

scale really seem in Wales -- seen. Down at this high school, the team

:25:50.:25:54.

are rehearsing a particularly tricky set piece. The police have been

:25:55.:25:57.

involved in the planning from the start, but Nigel has roped in

:25:58.:26:01.

members of the public services into helping out and as per usual,

:26:02.:26:09.

everything is top secret. We are rehearsing for the opening scene of

:26:10.:26:14.

our event. We got fire engines, we got police, we've got all sorts to

:26:15.:26:22.

cope with the very serious, dangerous thing that's going to

:26:23.:26:31.

happen. We will treated exactly as we would leave real emergency. We

:26:32.:26:34.

will work with the police force. I can't really say too much. Police,

:26:35.:26:47.

let's move in a little bit, that's for a cauldron around it. Director

:26:48.:26:52.

Nigel must only action skills of all involved to make the scene as

:26:53.:26:57.

realistic as dramatic as possible. You're not at a picnic, a few at a

:26:58.:27:08.

national disaster! -- you're at! What would be the next procedure if

:27:09.:27:14.

it was radioactive? We can evacuate the immediate area. Congratulations,

:27:15.:27:26.

we got the Oscar polished down here. I think the performing arts must sit

:27:27.:27:30.

in the heart of the Welsh people and certainly the public services, who

:27:31.:27:35.

had an important part of this scene -- who are an important part. True

:27:36.:27:40.

to its title, City of the Unexpected will keep the visitors to Cardiff on

:27:41.:27:44.

their toes as they enjoy some Roald Dahl magic and mayhem on the very

:27:45.:27:48.

streets of this city that made him. After two years of planning and

:27:49.:27:54.

months of designing, creating an rehearsing, all that's left to do is

:27:55.:27:58.

to add some final finishing touches. We are all a little bit weary, but

:27:59.:28:04.

very excited. Fingers crossed. As long as we don't get hit with too

:28:05.:28:09.

many unexpected events from the heavens, I think we possibly got

:28:10.:28:13.

something that people will remember, hopefully, for a long time. The last

:28:14.:28:18.

few details are being put in place. I just can't wait for this magical

:28:19.:28:24.

celebration to unfold. I'll be back next Wednesday at 7:30pm to bring

:28:25.:28:28.

you all of the highlights. Remember, you can get life update sent

:28:29.:28:31.

straight to your phone by visiting the City of the Unexpected website.

:28:32.:28:36.

One thing is for sure, it's going to be an unmissable weekend and we can

:28:37.:28:38.

expect the unexpected! Hello, I'm Tina Daheley

:28:39.:29:07.

with your 90 second update. Today, nurse Pauline Cafferkey

:29:08.:29:11.

has been cleared of misconduct.

:29:12.:29:14.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS