Frân Wen will kick off Pontio performances
SPECTATORS turned out in force over the weekend as almost a thousand athletes took part in a two day triathlon festival.
Sunday’s Sandman Triathlon was met with excitement and anticipation by the hundreds who descended upon Newborough to take part in the full distance event, which has been billed as the “UK’s number one triathlon location”.
Ewan Brown, for the second year running, emerged victorious
THE first performances to take place at Bangor’s long-delayed Pontio Arts & Innovation Centre have been revealed.
Frân Wen will kick off the national tour of their latest show for children and their families, Saer y Sêr, with two performances in Pontio, Bangor University’s brand new Arts and Innovation Centre on Saturday October 31, as part of the centre’s Pontio Preview.
The centre’s cinema will open later with a screening of Set Fire to the Stars with a Q&A with its star Celyn Jones on November 19. in Sunday’s men’s race with an incredible time of 2:24:40.
Meanwhile, Natalie Seymour was crowned the female champion, beating Helen Talbot into 2nd place and Dorothy Liviabella into third.
With thousands of enthusiastic supporters cheering on the triathletes, Nigel Kendrick of Always Aim High Events said that the atmosphere at Llanddwyn was “electric”.
The Frân Wen show, which has been devised by a team of professional artists and brought together by Welsh Children’s Poet Anni Llyn, is a Welsh language theatre show to ignite the imagination of children aged 3 to 7 years.
Tickets for both performances, which will take place in the Studio at 11am and 2pm, are available free of charge from the Pontio website and box office.
Elen ap Robert, Pontio’s artistic director said: “We are very pleased Frân Wen will be bringing their new family show to Pontio as part of our preview period, and have enjoyed being involved in the creative development of the show from the very beginning.
“This gives us as a new centre a great opportunity to trial the use of the studio as a rehearsal space and as a performance venue.
“It will also be an opportunity for families to attend an event and get a glimpse of what the centre will offer for children and families.”
The morning performance will be a “relaxed performance” suitable for those on the autistic spectrum as well as people with a learning disability or sensory/ communication disorder and their families. All theatrical elements of the production will be quieter to take into account the sensitivity of the audience to sound, lighting and unexpected movement.
Nia Jones of Frân Wen added, “We are very excited that Saer y Sêr will be one of the very first performances during Pontio’s preview period, and hope that the performances at Pontio encourages everyone to come and see the show at their local theatre.”
Set Fire to the Stars. which has won a clutch of awards since its release last November, is being shown as part of the Into Film Festival the world’s biggest youth film festival - when it visits cinemas across the Wales between November 4-20.
The £49m Pontio centre, part of Bangor University, has been dogged by construction delays.
It was due to be officially opened at a gala concert in October 2014 following a “soft opening” last summer.
But just days before the first production was due to be staged in the 450-seater Theatr Bryn Terfel, officials announced the centre was incomplete and would not be opening until this year.
Earlier this year a construction worker described the project as “chaotic”.
More information online at pontio.co.uk, the Pontio Shop on Bangor High Street or the Box Office on 01248 382828. More about the Film Festival on at intofilm.org/festival.