Under Milk Wood at Drama Theatre, SOH

A chorus of voices beckons us into the small Welsh town Llareggub, through streets, houses, bedrooms and on into the townspeople’s dreams. Borne along by beautiful voices and rich musical language, we follow the residents as they wake, rise, go about their day then drink and prepare to dream again. Through sketches and caricatures we glimpse moments in the life of the small town. We meet Mr Pugh who fantasises about poisoning his poisonous wife; Captain Cat who hears the voice of his dead love whenever he shuts his eyes; Willy Nilly the nosy local postman, Mr Dai Bread and his two wives, the lovely school teacher, Miss Gossamer, who longingly watches Sinbad the Sailor; and Mr Beyon, a butcher who mercilessly teases his wife about the origins of his choice cuts.An elegy for a time past, Dylan Thomas’ exquisite play for voices was written to prove that there could still be beauty in a post-nuclear world. Like Wilder’s Our Town, Under Milk Wood is a warming celebration of humanity that also casts a cool eye on failed relationships, thwarted lives and the oppressive clutter of small town existence. With a cast of entrancing voices – headed by Jack Thompson in the role Dylan Thomas imagined for himself but never got a chance to play – Andrew Upton’s production of Under Milk Wood really is for lovers of language.

Authors

• Dylan Thomas