Culture Unlocked

Unlocking local culture and cuisine! A tasty blend of arts and food tweets from arts journalist @ReviewWales and food/drink writer @ForzaCarra.

[Culture Unlocked @CultureUnlockd]

Our exploration of culture and cuisine begins today! #Swansea #Art #Food

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

Paranormal Unpacked Live: Rhondda Street Poltergeist Screening & Q&A in Swansea this Wednesday! 👻🎥
Following the amazing response to our first live event earlier this year, we’re doing it one more time on 3 June at The Lodge, Gorseinon, 8pm.
Pop along... if you dare!

[WalesOnline 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @WalesOnline]

The Flying Dutchman shows @WelshNatOpera can produce excellent opera at a world-class standard, writes @reviewwales
https://t.co/3WEtE7q6P8

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

Thank you/ diolch Llandeilo Literature Festival!
A wonderful day talking folklore (in Welsh for the first time), catching up with old and new friends, and getting suitably Gothic in graveyards in the Carmarthenshire market town.
Until next time, Llandeilo... nos da! 👻

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

I’ll be talking Welsh folklore & landmarks at Llandeilo Literature Festival next Sat (25 April)…in Welsh! (with simultaneous English translation).
My first ever Welsh-language public talk kicks off at 3pm. I’ll also be chairing a talk on Welsh witches @ 10am, make a day of it!👻

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

Hot off the press: Quirky Swansea! 🦢📖
In all good bookshops 15 April, preorder now.

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

Paul Robeson, singing with a Welsh choir in The Proud Valley (1940). 🎬🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
The American bass-baritone was born in Princeton, New Jersey, on this day in 1898.
A strong supporter of workers’ rights, he formed a lasting bond with the mining communities during filming in Wales.

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

Always nice to get a front page!
My Hay Festival preview and interview with CEO Julie Finch in today’s Western Mail magazine.

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

Paranormal Unpacked LIVE! comes to Swansea this Easter! 🐰👻
A special screening of The Rhondda Street Poltergeist documentary followed by a chat, Q&A and a few spooky surprises.
No need to book, just turn up... if you dare! 👻
📍 Y Storfa, Swansea
📅 4 April
⏰ 2pm
🎟 Free entry

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

Happy St David's Day/ Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant hapus! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

Join me for a FREE Ghosts & Folklore of Wales talk in Swansea this St David’s Day/ Dydd Gŵyl Dewi! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿👻
Expect 45 minutes of local ghost stories and fantastical lore about Wales’s patron saint himself, Dewi Sant.
Full details below 👇

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

I’ll be on BBC Radio Wales this evening talking about my lovely new book QUIRKY CARDIFF with Wales’ finest, Roy Noble.
The show starts at 5.30pm – right after Wales beat France in the rugby (that would be quirky!) – and I’ll pop up during it.
You can also catch up on BBC iPlayer.

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

The Mari Lwyd in Swansea! 🐴👻
Huge thanks to everyone who came to my "Christmas Ghosts & Folklore of Wales" talk at Y Storfa – and to anyone who joined any of my talks this year.
We ended 2025 with a suitably chaotic wassailing finale thanks to the amazing Mari Lwyd Annwn crew!

[Ghosts and Folklore of Wales 👻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @ghostsofwales]

The GHOSTS AND FOLKLORE OF WALES podcast Christmas special is here! 👻🎄
Witch-repelling decorations, eerie paintings & paranormal fog in Haunted Carmarthenshire.
With special guest Ronnie Kerswell-O’Hara, Wales' finest storyteller & Mari Lwyd maker!
🎧Out now on all podcast apps

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

Tonight! Get festive with the Mari Lwyd in Swansea...

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

Christmas Ghosts & Folklore of Wales – FREE talk in Swansea! 👻
Join me for a festive hour of eerie tales, seasonal traditions and a *possible* visit from a certain Mari Lwyd…
📍 Swansea Central Library, Y Storfa
📅 Wed 17 Dec, 5.30–6.30
No booking needed.

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

Richard Burton Centenary children’s drawing competition in his hometown of Port Talbot is on display at Aberafan Shopping Centre. Congratulations to the winners! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 #richardburton100

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

Richard Burton (1925-1984) was born 100 years ago today.
For his centenary, I recently visited his final resting place in Céligny, Switzerland - the idyllic Genevan village he called home for nearly 30 years.
“Seren Cymru a’r byd” – star of Wales and the world. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

Ahead of his centenary on 10 November, I travelled to Switzerland to follow in the footsteps of Wales’s greatest actor, Richard Burton - who made the Genevan village of Céligny his home for nearly three decades.
Read about it in today’s Western Mail Weekend magazine 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇨🇭

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

TONIGHT!
I’ll be talking ghosts, folklore & Halloween (Nos Calan Gaeaf) at "Night of the Spirits" in the Orangery, Margam Park, Port Talbot.
My final talks of spooky season, it’s going to be extra spooky- with a quick walk to one of the park’s “most haunted” spots afterwards!👻🎃

[Mark Rees @reviewwales]

To begin at the beginning…
Happy birthday to Dylan Thomas, born in Swansea, Wales, on this day in 1914.
The thin night darkens…
📷 "Dylan Thomas" (1948) | John Gay | National Portrait Gallery, London
#DylanThomas #DylanDay