thelondonseason

UNDER
MILK
WOOD

PHILIP MADOC LEADS THE CAST OF

THE LONDON THEATRE COMPANY's PRODUCTION OF DYLAN THOMAS’

UNDER
MILK
WOOD

DIRECTED BY MALCOLM TAYLOR

Performances through May 24, 2008 at the Tricycle

the review:

I would be the first to put my hand up to say that Under Milk Wood is one of my favorite plays. But this production was the bearer of both good and bad news.

While six of the cast - who 'took on' most of the characters - remained seated for most of the performance, they succesfully provided the humour and the bickering and bantering which makes Dylan Thomas' play so refreshing and original. The wilting, lilting accents of the Welsh village took on a rythm of its own as the many characters of the small town - both dead and alive - came to life. This was in sharp contrast to the lead narrator - one of two narrators sitting perched on stools closer to the audience.

Philip Madoc gave a new spin to Under Milk Wood. Playing the lead narrator, his delivery was more reminiscent of a high speed parody of a Shakespeare comedy and much less of the melodic rhythm so necessaryand typical for this narration.

Not so for the second narrator - who unlike Madoc - did his best to maintain the flow of the play. And it is important to keep that flow, as the actors move rapidly from character to character and the audience sometimes need to led by the hand to keep up.

On the positive side, Under Milk Wood - written by Dylan Thomas long before the era of TV soaps rells the story of 24 hours in Milk Wood. And in many ways it is reminiscent of an episode of Eastenders or Coronation Street. Few of the locals have little good to say about their neighbours, with loose women, unrequited love, murder, bad marriages and idle gossip all at the top of the agenda.

Despite variations in the quality of the performances, nothing could totally detract from the wicked brilliance of the play; and it remains a must for anyone like myself who is a devoted fan of the unique and very visual and emotive writing skills of a playwright who came to a premature end before he had time to write his next masterpiece.

Under Milk Wood, Dylan Thomas’ most famous and enduring work was first performed by six actors in the Kaufman auditorium in New York in May 1953 with Thomas himself reading the First Voice. Originally intended for radio – it was broadcast with Richard Burton in January 1954 – it has delighted theatre audiences for more than half a century. Funny, bawdy, sad and sensual, it captures twenty-four hours in the lives – and dreams – of the inhabitants of Llareggub, an imaginary, small seaside town in south Wales.

Philip Madoc’s more recent stage credits include Sir Oliver Surface in The School for Scandal for Salisbury Playhouse, Shylock in The Merchant of Venice for Wales Theatre Company, Happiest Days of your Life, for the Royal Exchange Theatre, Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor for Ludlow Festival Theatre, The Blue Angel and The Old Devils for the RSC and the title role in Faust for Theatr Clwyd. On television his credits include Here Comes the Queen, Doctors, High Hopes, A Very British Coup and Fortunes of War. He also played the title role in The Life of Times of Lloyd George for the BBC. His film credits include Den of Lions, The Biographer, The Spy who came in from the Cold and Operation Daybreak.

Malcolm Taylor directs the cast:

Howell Evans stage credits include Rope for Salisbury Playhouse, Wizard of Oz and Twelfth Night for Theatr Clywd and on screen Doctors, Casualty, Little Britain and A Land Fit for Heroes.
Cerith Flynn is making his professional stage debut in Under Milk Wood.
Abi Harris was in The Mousetrap at St Martin’s Theatre and It Runs in the Family, Not Now Darling, Out of Order and The Face of Fear for The Mill, Sonning while her screen credits include Blessed, Bottled up and What do you See?
Jennifer Hill performed in The House of Bernarda Alba and The Crucible for the National Theatre, her screen credits include Dr Who and Washed Up.
Gareth Kennerley has most recently been on stage in War Horse and St Joan at the National and Fiddler on the Roof at the Sheffield Crucible and in the West End.
Glyn Pritchard was most seen recently in Hard Times and Accidental Death of an Anarchist for Theatr Clwyd and on screen in Butterflies, Brookside and Dirty Work.
Anne Rutter’s stage credits include Treehouses for the Union Theatre and Staying On and Under Milk Wood for the London Theatre Company. On screen she has appeared in Brookside, Crossroads and Miss Marple.

with the voice of David Jason as the Voice of the Guidebook.

where

Tricycle Theatre, 269 Kilburn High Road, London NW6 7JR

how

to book tickets call +44 20 7328 1000

when

May 12 - 24, 2008

performances

Monday – Saturday at 8pm
Midweek matinees Thurs 15 and Wed 21 May at 2pm
Saturday matinees at 4pm

Press Night - May 14 - at 7pm

tickets

£10 (US$21) - £20 (US$42)

editor, May 2008

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