This week’s leading film at Pontio in Bangor is The Duke. Based on the true story of taxi driver Kempton Bunton, and starring two of the UK’s most popular film stars – Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent, The Duke is a funny, moving and thoughtful crowd-pleasing film that provides a perfect opportunity to savour the communal magic of the shared cinema experience once more.
Folk band ‘The Trials of Cato’ will be performing live at Theatr Bryn Terfel on Thursday 10 March.
Mid Wales Opera present La Bohème on Saturday 12 March, based on Henry Murger’s novel Scenes de la vie de Bohème. Four struggling bohemians – a poet, a painter, a musician and a philosopher are living together in Paris, when one freezing Christmas Eve their lives are changed forever.
Other activities for the community include ‘Vertical Dance’ – Pontio’s arts participation project BLAS offers children and young people various experiences of the arts. Dance For Parkinson’s
Book Here for all other events find out more here: https://www.pontio.co.uk/
The Duke (12A)
Roger Michell, 2020, 95m
Cast – Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent, Matthew Goode
Friday 4 – Thursday 17 March
£7.50 standard / £6.50 over 60 / £6 student / £5.50 child (under 18s)
Based on the true story of taxi driver Kempton Bunton, and starring two of the UK’s most popular film stars – Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent, The Duke is a funny, moving and thoughtful crowd-pleasing film that provides a perfect opportunity to savour the communal magic of the shared cinema experience once more. In 1961, Kempton, a 60-year-old taxi driver steals Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. He sends ransom notes saying that he will return the painting if the government invests more in care for the elderly.
Gŵyl y Ferch
Film Night (12A)
International Women’s Day
Tuesday 8 March, 8.15pm
£3
Gŵyl y Ferch is a social venture platforming local creative women in North Wales and beyond. Now in our third year, we are celebrating this International Women’s Day with an evening of short films by female filmmakers across Wales in Cinema Pontio. An evening of films and discussions not to be missed!
ROH Live: RIGOLETTO (12A)
Live Satellite Screening
Verdi, 2021, 3hr (+ interval) Italian with English subtitles
Cast – Carlos Alvarez, Liparit Avetisyan, Lisette Oropesa
£15 / £12.50 / £10
Thursday 10 March, 7.15pm ;
Sunday 13 March, 2pm (ENCORE)
The director of The Royal Opera, Oliver Mears sets his work in a pitiless world of luxurious decadence, corruption and social decay. In his first work for his own Company, Mears brings Verdi’s masterpiece into the modern world. Verdi’s thrilling Rigoletto pits power against innocence, beauty against ugliness, under the baton of conductor Sir Antonio Pappano. This special anniversary screening of Verdi’s Rigoletto celebrates 171 years since its premiere in 1851.
==
Cabaret Pontio presents The Trials of Cato
Thursday 10 March, 2022 8pm
Theatr Bryn Terfel £14 / £13 concessions
Formed in Beirut, the band returned to the UK in 2016 and set to performing tirelessly up and down the country, leading to BBC Radio 2’s Mark Radcliffe hailing them as “one of the real discoveries on the folk circuit in recent times.” Their debut album, Hide and Hair, gained attention in national publications, receives repeated national airplay on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music, and won Best Album at the 2019 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
Following a year of wall-to-wall touring across the UK, Europe, and North America in 2019, the band’s march was halted by the live silence of the global pandemic. Now, they emerge from their chrysalis transformed. As ever, ‘The Trials Continue’ – but this time the multi-talented instrumentalist and singer Polly Bolton joins their ranks.
The Trials of Cato’s hotly anticipated second album is scheduled for release later this year. Entitled Gog Magog, the album is named both after the mythical giant of Arthurian legend and the Cambridgeshire hilltop, where the new album was birthed over lockdown.
==
Mid Wales Opera La Bohème
Puccini
Saturday 12 March 7.30pm
Theatr Bryn Terfel
£20 / £18 concessions
It’s Christmas Eve, high above the streets of Paris a knock at the door begins the timeless love story of poet Rodolfo and his neighbour Mimi. Their fairytale romance feels like a Christmas miracle, but even the heat of their passion can’t defeat the winter chill – Mimi is desperately ill, and Rodolfo and his fellow bohemians can’t afford the help she needs. From a student garret to the bustling streets of Montmartre, Puccini’s masterpiece celebrates the power of love and friendship. Ensemble Cymru perform Puccini’s gloriously evocative score, with some of opera’s best loved arias conjuring Parisian cafes as well as the cold reality of the bohemians’ hand to mouth existence
==
Events:
OXIDE GHOSTS: THE BRASS EYE TAPES + Q&A
Michale Cumming, 2017, 60mins
Cast – Chris Morris
Saturday 12 March, 8.15pm
£7.50 standard / £6.50 over 60 / £6 student / £5.50 child (under 18s)
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Brass Eye, a rare opportunity to see this cult film, which will only ever be screened at these live events. Made from hundreds of hours of unseen and behind the scenes footage from his personal archive, director Michael Cumming’s film shares insights into the process of making the legendary and hugely controversial comedy TV series Brass Eye.
Michael Cumming is a director & filmmaker whose back catalogue – aside from Brass Eye – contains such gems as The Mark Thomas Product, Snuff Box, Mark Steel Lectures, Matt Berry’s BAFTA winning sitcom, Toast Of London and its follow up, Toast Of Tinseltown, and with Stewart Lee, the critically acclaimed, break-out music film of 2021, King Rocker.
We are delighted to welcome Michael Cumming himself for a post screening Q&A session in the cinema
==
Bangor Art Foundation 40+1 Exhibition
Location: Public spaces
Date: 21 January – 2 April 2021
This is an exhibition in collaboration with Storiel and Coleg Menai, celebrating 40 years of the Bangor Art Foundation course. We’ll be showing works by past students from the programme, including a sculpture by Angharad Pearce Jones, a commission by Niki Cotton and film screenings by Bethan Huws, Bedwyr Williams and Russell Owen.
==
Vertical Dance: Kate Lawrence and Pontio presents Lunch on the Fly
This is a fun session in which you can have a go at vertical dance. Starting with an easy warm up, you will then try to stand on and jump off a vertical floor using waist harnesses. You will be guided through some simple positions, and then you will fly!
Try it for 1 session or pay for the 4 for a lower price!
Wear comfortable clothing with snug layers around waist and top of legs.
Age: 16+
Limited capacity – space for 12 people only.
No experience necessary
Monday 7 March – Limited places
Monday 28 March – Sold Out
Monday 11 April – Sold Out
Monday 25 April – Sold Out
12pm Stiwdio
==
Blas
BLAS is Pontio’s arts participation project offering children and young people various experiences of the arts. There are three aspects to BLAS, firstly, weekly drama workshops for children and young people, from school year 3 to 13. Secondly, health and well-being arts projects with children and young people. Thirdly, youth arts projects in conjunction with professional companies that visit Pontio.
BLAS was launched in January 2013 following a successful bid for funding from Arts Council of Wales, and since then it has gone from strength to strength undertaking a number of projects with inspiring practitioners and Bangor’s enthusiastic children and communities.
The project is run by Pontio Arts Development Co-ordinator, Mared Elliw Huws and is funded by the Arts Council of Wales and the Widening Access programme at Bangor University
Weekly Drama Workshop
The weekly workshops are returning to Pontio Studio!
Weekly drama and performance workshops to develop confidence, stage presence, performing skills and have fun!
Where: Studio, Pontio
When: Every Monday and Wednesday night – Term Time
Monday: 5:00pm – 6:00pm – Years 3 and 4, 6:15pm – 7:15pm – Years 5 and 6,
Wednesday: 6 :30pm – 7:30pm – Years 7, 8 and 9 – 7:45pm – 8:45pm – Years 10 – 13
Cost: £25 (discount code available for residents of LL57 1 area)
Workshops are held mainly in Welsh. It is not essential to be fluent, and we welcome everyone of all language ability.
For more details email Mared: m.huws@bangor.ac.uk
==
National Dance Company Wales host Dance For Parkinson’s
Dance for Parkinson’s classes are fun and informal.
Dance has been proven to develop confidence and strength, whilst temporarily relieving some participants of symptoms in everyday life. Classes are creative and promote feelings of freedom from the physical and social constraints of having Parkinson’s.
We are an Affiliated hub of English National Ballet’s Dance for Parkinson’s programme.
Classes are 90 minutes long, and all you’ll need is a chair.
English National Ballet’s Dance for Parkinson’s programme has been running since 2008. We are proud to be part of the Dance for PD membership, to support Dance for Parkinson’s Partnership and People Dancing and to have an affiliation with Parkinson’s UK. ENB’s national Dance for Parkinson’s programme enjoys close links with Parkinson’s UK and the European Parkinson’s Disease Association EPDA.
Dates
IN THE STUDIO: 1 / 8 / 15 / 22 / 29 March
