I'm Blathering Now...

The roaring twenties; an era of decadence, drinking bootleg whiskey and dancing the night away without a care in world. Welcome to J Gatsby’s party. Put your dancing shoes on and let the fun begin! The Dolphin in Mold is a dilapidated black and white building that used to be a pub until July 2013. Since then it has lain empty falling into disrepair. It seems a long way from Long Island, New York and the sumptuous surroundings of Jay Gatsby’s mansion, but don’t let that put you off. Knock on the door, say “moonshine” to the person behind the shutter and you’ll be welcomed into a whole new world…so long as your name is on Gatsby’s guest list! This co-production of F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby between Theatr Clwyd and Guide of Misrule is a spectacle to behold. You are encouraged to dress up in 1920’s gear, and thankfully nearly everybody took this on board. As you make your way to the bar to order Gin Rickey’s or Mint Juleps, men donning spats and trilbies are arm i

As a child one of my favourite board games was “The Dickens Game.” I hadn’t read anything by Dicken’s at the time, but I soon learnt about him with this game. Players moved from inn to inn collecting characters to complete 6 chapters of one of Dicken’s novels (Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield or Great Expectations.) No-one I knew enjoyed playing it and so I spent most of my childhood making the cat and two teddy bears pit their wits against me. I always collected the cards for Great Expectations and they never argued with me! "So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip.” The tale of Great Expectations commences Christmas Eve 1803. The young orphan Pip is visiting the graves of his parents. Here he meets with the criminal Abel Magwitch who he agrees to help. This meeting will have a profound effect on the rest of Pip’s life. A year after the meeting, Pip is invited to Satis House, the home of the wealthy spinster Miss Havisham. Locked in a ti