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Under
Milk Wood
by
Dylan Thomas
Newcastle
People’s Theatre
Tuesday 13th
to Saturday
17th June 2017
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| Photo: Paula Smart |
Dylan
Thomas produced Under Milk Wood as a
specially commissioned radio play for the BBC just before he died at
the age of just 39. That first production
by the BBC in1954 had the legendary
Richard Burton as First Voice. So how does this week’s production at People’s
Theatre match up?
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| Photo: Paula Smart |
The
stage design by Tim Swinton has the stage set up as a BBC radio studio. Indeed the
first voice we hear is one that can be best described as received pronunciation
as the radio stage manager makes a preliminary announcement to the audience.
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| Photo: Paula Smart |
The
show starts with Frank Coles as the first voice and Steve Hewitt as the second
voice. They are the omniscient narrator,
describing the scene through the wonderful verse of Dylan Thomas. His lyrical
sensibilities have a Shakespearean quality. The very Welsh nature of the
phrasing, like Shakespeare, can take a little time for one to adjust to if one
isn’t used to it. But once you are tuned to the descriptive genius you are in
for a treat.
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| Photo: Paula Smart |
The
play starts with the sleepy dreams of the inhabitants of the small fictional
Welsh fishing village of Llareggub. The choice of name
clearly a part of Dylan’s sense of humour - read it backwards to see what I
mean. We are exposed to the inner thoughts of 43 inhabitants. It is an overload
of exposition. The tale then takes then through their day and then to their
return to sleep. To deliver this we have
a talented ensemble cast of 10. Unusual for The Peoples we also have live music
under Musical Director Stephen Waller. A Choir also puts an appearance in. We
love live music and prefer it to a tape.
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| Photo: Paula Smart |
The
sound design enables involves microphones, just like a radio show. These enable
sound effects from snoring to the clattering as the cows are milked. We have
previously reviewed dramas based on a radio production, such as Frank Sumatra, and
have seen how the special effects can be made more prominent and help add to
the comedy of the situation. This, however, is the BBC and so a man brushing a
box to get a particular sound isn’t intended to be funny in itself. That said,
director Gordon Russell has ensured the timing allows a regular flow of
chuckles along the way, though they usually come from the script and the
ensembles delivery.
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| Photo: Paula Smart |
Under Milk Wood is a departure in a
number of ways for the People’s Theatre. That said, they’re not afraid to take
on the different or the difficult. In a mixture of performance spoken word and
dramatic presentation we have a fine production. If you love the lyrical style
of Thomas then you will be in for a treat. If you think of him as a bit of a
windbag, who goes on a bit, then this is unlikely too convert you. The ensemble
didn’t put a foot wrong and I think it is great to hear this play performed
live.
Review
by Stephen
Oliver.
Tickets:
Tickets cost £13.50 (Concessions
£11) and are available for the box office on 0191 265 5020 or via the website www.peoplestheatre.co.uk
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