0:00:02 > 0:00:04"Do not go gentle unto that good night..."
0:00:04 > 0:00:06I think he's dead.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09He's buried. And should be left alone to lie in peace.
0:00:09 > 0:00:14Dylan Thomas, world-famous Welsh poet, playwright
0:00:14 > 0:00:18and legendary bon viveur, would have been 100 years old this year.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21But so what? Who actually cares
0:00:21 > 0:00:25about celebrating the long-gone life of another dead, white poet?
0:00:25 > 0:00:29Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31Well, actually, this living, breathing,
0:00:31 > 0:00:33celebrated black poet does.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37I have always thought of him as the Bob Marley of Wales.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41Benjamin Zephaniah has come to Swansea, the ugly,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44lovely town of Dylan Thomas's birth on a mission improbable.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49I think Dylan Thomas has been hijacked,
0:00:49 > 0:00:51and I want to give him back to the people.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53But do the people want him back?
0:00:53 > 0:00:56- Dylan Thomas.- Dylan Thomas?
0:00:57 > 0:00:58It's not looking good.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01So, can he really recruit an army of converts from one of Swansea's
0:01:01 > 0:01:03toughest estates
0:01:03 > 0:01:07and reclaim Dylan Thomas as the people's poet of Wales?
0:01:07 > 0:01:09In a house not right in the head.
0:01:11 > 0:01:12Oh, mush.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15To begin near the beginning.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19And to end with their own performance of their own version
0:01:19 > 0:01:23- of Dylan Thomas.- Here we go. - Poets on the Hill!
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Well, it's not going to be easy.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27- SHE RAPS:- Home comes Dorian, knapsack on his back.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Hiya, mam, dirty grundies in my sack.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33You're allowed to be emotional - this is about expressing yourself
0:01:33 > 0:01:36- and telling your story.- Yeah. - It's not show business, it's serious.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40And with only six weeks to get their performance to the stage,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43will the Poets on the Hill be ready to break a leg?
0:01:43 > 0:01:47The Poets on the Hill performance of Lovely Ugly.
0:01:50 > 0:01:51Or hearts?
0:01:51 > 0:01:55Just nail it to the fence.
0:02:01 > 0:02:02"To begin at the beginning.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11"I was born in a large Welsh town at the beginning of the Great War,
0:02:11 > 0:02:15"an ugly, lovely town, or so it was and is to me.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18"Crawling, sprawling..."
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Ugly, lovely Swansea. January 2014.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26100 years after the birth of its most famous, controversial,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30eccentric, bombastic, but frequently brilliant son.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Wales and the world are preparing to celebrate the great
0:02:34 > 0:02:37sage of Swansea's centenary.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41But what does Dylan Thomas mean to the men,
0:02:41 > 0:02:46women and children living and loving in today's ugly, lovely city?
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Does his poetry still trip from every Swansea lip?
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Or is he reduced to scrawls on gourmet pub walls?
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Well, this man is here to find out.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06This poetry is like a rhythm that dropped.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08The tongue brings a rhythm that shoots like a shot.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12This poetry is designed for ranting, dance hall style, big mouth chanting.
0:03:13 > 0:03:18Benjamin Zephaniah, internationally renowned poet, author,
0:03:18 > 0:03:20playwright and social radical.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23No matter if you're black or if you are white, no apartheid,
0:03:23 > 0:03:25no apartheid, no apartheid.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29For the last 35 years, he has been using the spoken word to awaken...
0:03:29 > 0:03:32Well, I might be black My people were once slaves
0:03:32 > 0:03:36But time comes on and love comes in So no, you must be here...
0:03:36 > 0:03:38..provoke...
0:03:38 > 0:03:40The ghetto people The best that you can find
0:03:40 > 0:03:44Don't let the media confuse you and make you change your mind...
0:03:44 > 0:03:46..and inspire people.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48What is more important to me
0:03:48 > 0:03:51is that it inspires other people to get up and say what they want to say.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54And in 2014, Benjamin has come to Swansea on a simple
0:03:54 > 0:03:56but improbable mission,
0:03:56 > 0:04:01to inspire everyday Swansea people to write and perform their own
0:04:01 > 0:04:06tributes to Dylan Thomas's most famous work, Under Milk Wood.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08But why?
0:04:08 > 0:04:12I think Dylan Thomas has been hijacked by a kind of literary
0:04:12 > 0:04:15elite, and I want to give him back to the people.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21I have always thought of him as the Bob Marley of Wales.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27"Crawling, sprawling by a long and splendid curving shore..."
0:04:27 > 0:04:31He uses words, everyday words, that everyone can understand.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36"Threw stones into the sea for the barking outcast dogs... "
0:04:36 > 0:04:40So, he is somebody who speaks from a kind of grassroots level.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44"Made castles and forts and harbours and racetracks in the sand
0:04:44 > 0:04:47"This sea town was my world... "
0:04:47 > 0:04:49I don't want to be an outsider coming in and saying,
0:04:49 > 0:04:50"You should know what's good for you."
0:04:50 > 0:04:54I want to say, "I am coming from the same place as you and I got turned
0:04:54 > 0:04:59"on by him, and we can claim him back, make him ours, make him yours."
0:04:59 > 0:05:03# This is my message to you-hoo-hoo... #
0:05:05 > 0:05:07Well, Dylan Thomas might turn Benjamin on,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10but what about the people of Swansea?
0:05:10 > 0:05:11To begin at the beginning.
0:05:14 > 0:05:15In order to find out,
0:05:15 > 0:05:19Benjamin heads down to the Liberty Stadium, home of Swansea City
0:05:19 > 0:05:23Football Club, whose motto is one of Thomas's most famous lines.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Do not go gentle.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30- Dylan Thomas.- OK. - Great local poet, as you know.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34- Yes.- How much do you know about him?- Not a lot.- Not a lot.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37- Dylan Thomas.- Dylan Thomas?
0:05:37 > 0:05:40I just know that he is a well-known playwright, a writer,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43a naughty man, very naughty man.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Can you decipher that?
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Yeah, do not go gentle, Swans. I do, yeah.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52- Can you quote any Dylan Thomas poetry?- No.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54- Can you quote any?- No.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58- Can you quote any Dylan Thomas? - Go on, you can do it.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03Only "Swansea is a lovely, ugly town."
0:06:03 > 0:06:05You can't quote any of his poetry?
0:06:05 > 0:06:09That puts us on the spot, no, I'm sorry.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13Brilliant, fabulous! Can't buy it!
0:06:13 > 0:06:15FOOTBALL CROWD ROARING
0:06:15 > 0:06:17They are not going gentle.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20It is a scoreless draw at the football, so Benjamin heads to
0:06:20 > 0:06:25Swansea's other city temple, the market, in hope of a better results.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29- The great, wonderful Dylan Thomas. Can you quote any of his poetry?- No.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32- No.- No.- No?
0:06:32 > 0:06:35The lady on the bacon stall, have you spoken to her?
0:06:35 > 0:06:38We are told you know so much about Dylan Thomas.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42You must be joking. Whoever told you that is telling you a fib.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44The whole market says you are an expert on Dylan Thomas.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46I tell you what, your nose is growing.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50If you were related to Pinocchio, it would be out here by now.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54Go on, you must be able to quote us a Dylan Thomas line.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56No.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59I wasn't much of a fan of his music.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01No, that was Bob Dylan.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06Well, after talking to the people,
0:07:06 > 0:07:10I am a little bit nervous about this project,
0:07:10 > 0:07:17because...everybody seems to know the name,
0:07:17 > 0:07:21and so many people, the first thing they said was "drink".
0:07:22 > 0:07:25So that is a little bit depressing. It's not looking good.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Half a day into his crusade and Benjamin's dreams
0:07:30 > 0:07:33of an Under Milk Wood inspired people's performance
0:07:33 > 0:07:36might have already run aground.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38But Under Milk Wood was famously set
0:07:38 > 0:07:40in the fictional community of Llareggub,
0:07:40 > 0:07:44so perhaps what Benjamin needs is a real-life Swansea community.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47My old friend Captain Cat.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51Full of the colour, the comedy and the characters of Llareggub.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Which is why Benjamin's next port of call is a world
0:07:56 > 0:08:01away from the art and artifice of Swansea's catamaran bobbing marina.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Townhill is the much maligned estate that looks down,
0:08:05 > 0:08:09not only on the ugly, lovely city, but is also within spitting
0:08:09 > 0:08:11distance of the house where Dylan Thomas was born.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17And Townhill and Thomas have previous.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21As a boy, Thomas hated the scabby-kneed Townhill kids,
0:08:21 > 0:08:23who mocked his grammar school pretentions.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26But he grew to love the rich,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29earthy comic characters that Townhill produced,
0:08:29 > 0:08:35recognisable in the No-good Boyos, Polly Garters and Captain Cats that populate the work that
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Benjamin wants to recreate - Under Milk Wood.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43And coincidentally, this year,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Townhill is also celebrating its 100th birthday.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50And in very different ways, its life has been as troubled,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53colourful and controversial as Dylan's.
0:08:56 > 0:09:01Not so long ago, Townhill was notorious as the car crime capital of Europe,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04and developed a reputation as a place where no-one would want
0:09:04 > 0:09:07to visit, let alone live.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11But these are different times.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13The people here are moving on from that past.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18The colourful characters are still here, but just how is
0:09:18 > 0:09:22Benjamin going to persuade them that putting on a performance inspired
0:09:22 > 0:09:26by a dead bloke from down the road has any relevance to their lives?
0:09:27 > 0:09:30I have just arrived.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32I have no real gameplan,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35I just want to hang out with them and see where it takes us.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39I want to get people turned onto Dylan Thomas and his poetry.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Benjamin climbs the hill to meet Ricky.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Townhill born and Townhill bred.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52Now a respected community worker, but once a No-good Boyo himself.
0:09:52 > 0:09:57- Hi!- Morning.- Are you Ricky?- Yes. - I hope so. Are you well?- Yeah.
0:09:57 > 0:10:02- Very, very good. So this is Townhill? - I'm going to show you around.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05Very good. You've lived here most of your life.
0:10:05 > 0:10:06I've lived here for 34 years.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10- It's a great community.- You must've seen it change over the years.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12Massively, it's changed, massively, over the years.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16From when I was a kid, it was the joyriding capital of Britain.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20This is rather strange, barriers right in the middle of the road.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22These barriers were put in place 20 years ago.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24It was that bad they had to put barriers like this?
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Yes, they were put in place to stop the joyriders.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Let's hope they soon get taken away.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32A long time ago, when that sort of bad stuff was going on,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35what side of the fence where you on?
0:10:35 > 0:10:37I was a bit of a boy, growing up.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42I was never into joyriding, because I never agreed
0:10:42 > 0:10:46with it, to be honest, but I used to have little fights here and there.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48What changed for you?
0:10:48 > 0:10:53I was 18 years of age and it was either one way or another way,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57it was either the biggest B and B in Swansea or on the right route
0:10:57 > 0:11:01- and I chose the right route. - I have a similar story.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05I can remember a night, I can remember a night
0:11:05 > 0:11:08when I lay in bed and I thought, "I don't want any more of this."
0:11:08 > 0:11:10I saw a couple of my friends die,
0:11:10 > 0:11:12a couple of them get long prison sentences
0:11:12 > 0:11:16and I just literally got out of bed that day and changed my life.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18In one sense, I can understand something that
0:11:18 > 0:11:21a lot of people here might have started with.
0:11:21 > 0:11:28In my case, I had run-ins with the law, problems at home, and not so
0:11:28 > 0:11:32long ago, people were saying to me, "Lock him up and throw away the key."
0:11:35 > 0:11:39Whilst Benjamin found salvation in poetry, here on Townhill,
0:11:39 > 0:11:43it's pugilism that keeps the youth on the straight and narrow.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51The way we work is to keep them out of court and keep them out of prison.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54When somebody can box, it puts a bit of character in them
0:11:54 > 0:11:56and not very often you get a boxer turning into a bully.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- It's about self-control. - Yes, discipline.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02And that's what a lot of the kids haven't had, is discipline.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05And they get discipline here.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07I'm a southpaw.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14What do you think of the one and only, the great Dylan Thomas?
0:12:14 > 0:12:18I think he's dead. He is buried and he should left to lie in peace.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20But Bob Marley is dead, but his music lives on,
0:12:20 > 0:12:24his words live on and inspire millions of people.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26He don't inspire me. I'm not interested in the past.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29Great poetry and great music lives on.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32When Muhammad Ali is dead, people will still talk about him.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34People will be talking about me when I am dead.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36You're contradicting yourself now!
0:12:36 > 0:12:38But they won't be saying very nice things!
0:12:38 > 0:12:42When you're dead, I think you should be left to rest, end of story.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45I'm not going to argue with you, you're a boxing instructor!
0:12:51 > 0:12:53If Benjamin can't interest the adults,
0:12:53 > 0:12:55maybe he can get somewhere with the kids.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00The local comp is called the Dylan Thomas Community School.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05- Surely they know who he is here.- How much do you know about Dylan Thomas?
0:13:05 > 0:13:10- A little bit, but not loads. - But not loads.- He's old.
0:13:10 > 0:13:17- He's dead, by the way.- He died in a pub.- He wrote Under Milk Wood.- Yes.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Over to you, Simon.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Every school has their challenges. What are the challenges here?
0:13:23 > 0:13:26I suppose the biggest challenge we have is helping
0:13:26 > 0:13:30youngsters have the confidence to see just how capable they are.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34Even the brighter ones don't often see themselves as being that.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36And part of it is saying, there are opportunities out there
0:13:36 > 0:13:39and you should go and grab those opportunities.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45Last port of call on Benjamin's whistle-stop tour is
0:13:45 > 0:13:48the Phoenix Centre, built on the grounds where 20 years ago,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51joyriders regularly burnt out their stolen cars.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55- Mike, Benjamin. - Hello! Nice to meet you.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59The man who runs the centre, Mike Durke, loves the area,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02but doesn't underestimate the challenge.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05I know it is a bit of a cliche, but is there a community spirit here?
0:14:05 > 0:14:10Massively so. Fantastic. Everybody knows everybody.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14We've got a lot of issues to do with drink and drugs, the unemployment
0:14:14 > 0:14:18level is double the Swansea average, you know, so we've got these issues.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21There are issues to do with aspiration and ambition.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24You know, if your mum is involved in drugs and your dad is
0:14:24 > 0:14:27an alcoholic, you know, you're not having a very positive start.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29We've got those issues, but we've got people,
0:14:29 > 0:14:31and that is the biggest resource we've got.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34Number 11.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37Has anybody here got time for poetry?
0:14:37 > 0:14:39No, people are more concerned about earning some money,
0:14:39 > 0:14:41getting a job and feeding the kids
0:14:41 > 0:14:44than they are about reading Dylan Thomas poetry.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47I'm going to try and turn some of the local people on to Dylan Thomas
0:14:47 > 0:14:49and poetry generally.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Do you think I'm going to have a hard job?
0:14:51 > 0:14:53No, because you're Benjamin Zephaniah.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55BENJAMIN LAUGHS
0:14:55 > 0:14:56That's going to help, innit?
0:14:56 > 0:14:59A real big library.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05So if Benjamin's going to succeed,
0:15:05 > 0:15:08he can't rely on Townhill having a passion for poetry.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12Instead, he needs to tap into their community spirit.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14But does the Hill have one?
0:15:16 > 0:15:17Benjamin's going to put it to the test
0:15:17 > 0:15:21by putting on a free performance of Dylan's work, and his own,
0:15:21 > 0:15:22in the West End.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27No, not that one, but Townhill's very own premier night spot,
0:15:27 > 0:15:29the West End Social Club.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Usually home to bingo, discos and drag acts
0:15:37 > 0:15:39and certainly not poncey poetry.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42But having attracted a full house,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45if Benjamin now fails to win them over,
0:15:45 > 0:15:47his mission will end tonight.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51Everything rests on the next few minutes on stage.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:15:55 > 0:15:56Evening, ladies and gentlemen,
0:15:56 > 0:16:00welcome to the West End Sports and Social Club.
0:16:00 > 0:16:06He is a dub poet, a vegan, an actor,
0:16:06 > 0:16:11a self-confessed troublemaker.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15He's also a dyslexic former criminal
0:16:15 > 0:16:17who left school at 13.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23He is a man who turned down an OBE.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26CHEERING
0:16:26 > 0:16:27Benjamin Zephaniah.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29APPLAUSE
0:16:29 > 0:16:31What a welcome.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36This is a very, very serious mission.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40One of the greatest creative minds came from this city.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45And, I have to tell you - I'm going to be really honest now,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48and some people may not like me for saying this, but it's the truth -
0:16:48 > 0:16:52sometimes, I think he's not really appreciated here.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54I want to try and do my bit,
0:16:54 > 0:16:58get people here to appreciate his importance
0:16:58 > 0:17:03AND to get you guys writing your own poetry and expressing yourself.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08I see thousands of muscular black men on Hampstead Heath
0:17:08 > 0:17:11walking their poodles
0:17:11 > 0:17:14And hundreds of black and Asian female Formula 1 drivers
0:17:14 > 0:17:19Racing around Birmingham in pursuit of a truly British way of life.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21I have a dream
0:17:21 > 0:17:24That one day from all the churches of this land
0:17:24 > 0:17:28we will hear the sound of that great old spiritual
0:17:28 > 0:17:33"Here we go, here we go, here we go."
0:17:33 > 0:17:38"Oggy, oggy, oggy, oi, oi, oi!"
0:17:38 > 0:17:41APPLAUSE
0:17:41 > 0:17:46All of you, at some point in your life, will find poetry useful,
0:17:46 > 0:17:51and somebody introduced me to a poem by Dylan Thomas.
0:17:51 > 0:17:56It was his most famous poem, Do Not Go Gentle.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58I remember, at the time...
0:18:00 > 0:18:03I just thought, "What a beautiful, powerful piece of writing."
0:18:06 > 0:18:10In the last few days, this poem has meant even more to me,
0:18:10 > 0:18:14because I lost my father, and he did not go gentle.
0:18:14 > 0:18:15I'm going to perform the poem now.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19And I must tell you, this is the first time I've ever really
0:18:19 > 0:18:23stood in front of an audience and performed anybody else's poem.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29Do not go gentle into that good night,
0:18:29 > 0:18:35Old age should burn and rave against the close of day;
0:18:35 > 0:18:39Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
0:18:43 > 0:18:47Because their words had forked no lightning they
0:18:47 > 0:18:51Do not go gentle into that good night.
0:18:52 > 0:18:53Rage...
0:18:55 > 0:18:56Rage...
0:18:58 > 0:19:01..against the dying of the light.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:19:07 > 0:19:12At the end of an amazing and emotional night down the West End,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15local Townhill resident and character Christopher Dolphin,
0:19:15 > 0:19:17aka Dolly, speaks for the Hill
0:19:17 > 0:19:21when he moves a vote of thanks for their famous guest.
0:19:21 > 0:19:26Thank you, Benjamin - absolute legend. Awesome poetry.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29He was a poet and he didn't know it. What a nice guy.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Great, fantastic turnout, guys. Absolutely amazing.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36Oh, here we are, here's a mouth in the corner - yeah, yeah...
0:19:36 > 0:19:38That's the way, that's the way.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41Kick a man when he's down and he was due a win.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44But...no, in fairness, basically, great personality, guys.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Like I say, give yourselves a round of applause,
0:19:47 > 0:19:49cos you've all been amazing.
0:19:49 > 0:19:50That's what we want...
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Born and bred, Townhill lads, this is what we're about, right?
0:19:53 > 0:19:56And Dolly's not the only one who's got the Benjamin bug.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58I've listened to poetry before,
0:19:58 > 0:20:02and...I've never heard something more inspirational than that.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05I really just want to go home now and just write some raps.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09- Come on - cool.- Thanks so much. - All right. Take care.
0:20:09 > 0:20:10When he spoke, I got shivers,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12like...when you feel excited about something,
0:20:12 > 0:20:14them kind of shivers.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16It was so passionate, the way he talked about stuff,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19the way he was engaged into what he was saying.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21That was fantastic.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23I lost my dad two years ago,
0:20:23 > 0:20:28and hearing him recite "Do not go gentle into that good night",
0:20:28 > 0:20:32um...was difficult and wonderful.
0:20:32 > 0:20:39I think I've just realised that you recite poems in your own voice,
0:20:39 > 0:20:43and not in the voice you've heard it recited a hundred times before.
0:20:43 > 0:20:44It went good as a gig.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49Um...there was a lot of enthusiasm here.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52I just want them to take that enthusiasm further.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05It's the day after the incredible night before on Townhill.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Benjamin has invited anyone
0:21:07 > 0:21:09who wants to be part of this mission improbable
0:21:09 > 0:21:12to come to a very different sort of audition.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15A unique "Swansea's Got Talent."
0:21:15 > 0:21:17And he's enlisted the support
0:21:17 > 0:21:21of a local poet, writer and theatre director
0:21:21 > 0:21:23to give him an expert reality check.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27The challenge to the people is to come and tell their stories
0:21:27 > 0:21:30in any way they choose.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Benjamin's understandably nervous.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36The whole project hangs on the amount of people that come tonight.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39The atmosphere that was in the room last night, you know,
0:21:39 > 0:21:40I hope they went to bed with that atmosphere,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43they woke up with it, that enthusiasm
0:21:43 > 0:21:44and that it'll just carry on.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49But come audition time, will anyone turn up?
0:21:49 > 0:21:51There are already some promising signs,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54and first through the door is a familiar face - Dolly.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57It was uncanny to see you down the football.
0:21:57 > 0:21:58- Oh, yeah.- I honestly thought,
0:21:58 > 0:22:00"Oh, this is Swan's new player."
0:22:00 > 0:22:03LAUGHTER
0:22:03 > 0:22:04Transfer window. I was thinking...
0:22:04 > 0:22:07There's a lot of speculation, a lot of talk, blah-blah-blah.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09"Oh, my God, Benjamin!" It's mental!
0:22:09 > 0:22:12I was going to the boys, "This is Swan's new striker."
0:22:12 > 0:22:15- It was funny, that.- Brilliant. - I'm good, but I'm not that good.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17LAUGHTER
0:22:17 > 0:22:19- You've got an awesome touch. - Take care.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21- Hello!- Hello.- Oh, hello.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24- Hello.- We remember you.- Ha-ha!
0:22:24 > 0:22:26I just went home and I thought,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28"Well, I've got so many ideas in my head,
0:22:28 > 0:22:29"I've got to write them down."
0:22:29 > 0:22:31- I wrote a poem.- Wow.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33The hundred steps - where do we start?
0:22:33 > 0:22:37Probably from the bottom, and end with a thumping heart.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Step one, let's go, ascend.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41But hold on - where does it end?
0:22:41 > 0:22:43I wrote about the hundred steps,
0:22:43 > 0:22:47and I thought, well, it's such a pain, walking up them.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49I might as well put it into words.
0:22:49 > 0:22:50Will I go on for ever and ever?
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Or will I end up with a successful endeavour?
0:22:53 > 0:22:57- Oh, fantastic!- Well done. - Well done. Brilliant.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01- Hello!- And people of all ages and talents are continuing to arrive.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04- Hello, what's your name? - Keira Marshall.- Keira.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08- And how old are you, Keira? - I'm 15, nearly 16.- 15 - fab.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11I'm going to play and sing a song. I was going to do one I wrote.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13Perfect. Let's do it.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16SLOW ACOUSTIC GUITAR MELODY
0:23:20 > 0:23:24# I'm basically 15
0:23:24 > 0:23:28# But him, he would say
0:23:28 > 0:23:31# "Girl, you're only 14
0:23:31 > 0:23:33# "Got your whole little life to do these things... #
0:23:33 > 0:23:35My name is Charlene. I'm 26.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37I've got five children
0:23:37 > 0:23:38and I'm not having any more.
0:23:38 > 0:23:39LAUGHTER
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Definitely not.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45- You've come here and you're speaking about yourself...- Yeah.- ..to us.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47- Could you do it on stage? - I don't mind.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50If it helps somebody out there somewhere, then fair enough, innit?
0:23:50 > 0:23:51- That's the attitude.- Yeah.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53# Funny how little words mean
0:23:53 > 0:23:57# When they're a little too late. #
0:23:59 > 0:24:03- That's...very beautiful. - Thank you.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06- Is that English? Can you say that? - You can.- You can, can't you?
0:24:06 > 0:24:09- And you've got a lovely voice. - It's quite bizarre when you walk in,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12the guitar's almost bigger than you.
0:24:12 > 0:24:13- Thank you.- Bye.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15I'm a bit nervous now, don't get me wrong.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19I'm probably not at my best today because I am hung-over, but...
0:24:19 > 0:24:21I've got hundreds of stories to tell.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23You could write one out and formulate one, or...
0:24:23 > 0:24:25Well, I'd be able to...
0:24:25 > 0:24:28- I'm dyslexic. I can read...- Yes.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31..But I can't spell stuff I can read, so...
0:24:31 > 0:24:32I could read off something,
0:24:32 > 0:24:34but I couldn't write it down, if that makes sense.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38- Don't let dyslexia hold you back. I'm a poet.- Yeah.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41I'm a professor of literature and I'm very dyslexic.
0:24:41 > 0:24:42It's weird, innit?
0:24:42 > 0:24:47Let me tell you, brother, dyslexia has nothing to do with your ideas
0:24:47 > 0:24:48or the level of your intelligence.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50- Don't let that hold you back.- Yeah.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53- We're going to give you something to do.- Top man.- Brilliant.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56- Hello.- What's your name?- I'm Zoe.
0:24:56 > 0:24:57I had two young children,
0:24:57 > 0:24:59personal things happened with family bereavements
0:24:59 > 0:25:01and I stopped writing.
0:25:01 > 0:25:02In the last six months or so,
0:25:02 > 0:25:06I've started trying to do it again, and from last night,
0:25:06 > 0:25:08it did inspire me further to...yeah...
0:25:08 > 0:25:10I did go home and I did write a couple of things on my phone,
0:25:10 > 0:25:12which is really terrible, I'm betraying the pen.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15When I went home last night, from your performance,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18I actually wrote some stuff on my phone.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20That's what we want, it's what the performance is for,
0:25:20 > 0:25:22- to inspire people. - I've had two young children
0:25:22 > 0:25:27and I've been bereaved twice in the last four years,
0:25:27 > 0:25:28so my writing stopped.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31- TEARFULLY:- Sorry, I didn't really expect this.- No, no.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33- My writing stopped, I just... - Right.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37Confidence, and...grief and stuff.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40- Sorry, I really didn't expect this, sorry.- It's all right.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42I feel terrible, that's shaming!
0:25:43 > 0:25:44Oh! Sorry.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46I want to hug you, too!
0:25:46 > 0:25:48- We didn't mean to upset you. - I didn't even expect it!
0:25:48 > 0:25:52- Really sorry.- Don't worry. - So embarrassing.- Don't worry.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55- Yeah... - That's what writing's about.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Sometimes, you get emotional. That's the thing with what we do.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00You're allowed to be emotional.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02This is not coming on, singing a pop song,
0:26:02 > 0:26:04- getting off and collecting the cheque outside.- Yeah.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07This is about expressing yourself and telling your story.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09- Ah, you're coming in together. - Hello, there.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13And the oldest person to come to the audition, 81-year-old Josephine,
0:26:13 > 0:26:16is to give everyone the biggest surprise.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18- My son's a rapper.- Mm-hm.
0:26:18 > 0:26:19And one day, I thought,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22"Oh...I wonder if I can do a little bit of rapping?"
0:26:22 > 0:26:23So I did.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27- You wrote the lyrics yourself? - Oh, yes, because it's true.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30Can we hear it? OK - four-beat intro? What type of speed?
0:26:30 > 0:26:32I don't know, darling, I don't understand.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34Just put me into a bit beat.
0:26:34 > 0:26:35I'll give you four beat...
0:26:35 > 0:26:37HE BEATBOXES
0:26:39 > 0:26:42# Home comes Dorian, knapsack on his back
0:26:42 > 0:26:44# "Hiya, Mam, dirty grundies in my sack"
0:26:44 > 0:26:47# "Put them in the sink and you give them a twirl
0:26:47 > 0:26:49# "I'm going out tonight to find me a girl"
0:26:49 > 0:26:51# Comes home late, says "I didn't strike lucky"
0:26:51 > 0:26:54# "Not to worry, Mam, I've brought us home a curry"
0:26:54 > 0:26:56# Early next morning, there's a pong in the loo
0:26:56 > 0:26:59# "Sorry, Mam, I've done a stinky poo"
0:26:59 > 0:27:01# "Not to worry, son, that's all right
0:27:01 > 0:27:03# "Because you are the diamond in my life"
0:27:06 > 0:27:08# All you mums out there, darling little Billy
0:27:08 > 0:27:11# Things get to change when they get an active willy... #
0:27:11 > 0:27:12LAUGHTER
0:27:14 > 0:27:16APPLAUSE
0:27:16 > 0:27:21A long and somewhat unexpected night,
0:27:21 > 0:27:26but for Benjamin, mission improbable is starting to feel almost possible.
0:27:26 > 0:27:27LAUGHTER
0:27:27 > 0:27:31I remember, when I spoke about this a couple of days ago,
0:27:31 > 0:27:33I thought, "I don't know where it's going to go.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35"It could all fall flat."
0:27:35 > 0:27:39And we're not sitting here, going, "Nobody turned up, nobody turned up!
0:27:39 > 0:27:40"Nobody loves us."
0:27:40 > 0:27:43Such a diverse group of people,
0:27:43 > 0:27:45and...we've probably unearthed more talent
0:27:45 > 0:27:48than we thought we were going to unearth,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51more stories than we thought we were going to unearth.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54- We've got a five-year-old poet... - Five, wasn't he?
0:27:54 > 0:27:58Up to 81, 82 - Josephine, our rapping grandmother.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01What struck me is everybody really wants to be involved.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Hey, look, they've showed us what they can do.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06Now we've got to do what we can do.
0:28:06 > 0:28:07- LAUGHING:- Fantastic.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09Good luck - see you, bye!
0:28:10 > 0:28:11Bye!
0:28:17 > 0:28:22Next time, Benjamin's 21st century Under Milk Wood is still on track
0:28:22 > 0:28:25and the first challenge is to get his army to get to know
0:28:25 > 0:28:27the work of Dylan Thomas...
0:28:27 > 0:28:28A Child's Christmas in Wales.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31I'm a bit of a Dylan Thomas virgin, to be quite honest.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34If my mates knew I had a day off, I went to the library,
0:28:34 > 0:28:36"All right? Can I have four books of Dylan Thomas, please?
0:28:36 > 0:28:38"I'm going sit in my van and recite Dylan Thomas."
0:28:38 > 0:28:40"Are you serious? Are you serious?"
0:28:40 > 0:28:43..and then, to encourage them to connect to their own stories...
0:28:43 > 0:28:46I didn't think he was that young dying,
0:28:46 > 0:28:47to be honest with you.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51It's a waste, isn't it? I know what it's like to lose people
0:28:51 > 0:28:53and it's just a cruel world we live in.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57..and finally, to take the stage at Swansea's Dylan Thomas Theatre.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00Julia - Townhill's answer to Carol Vorderman.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03# Doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo, boo! #