Cut down to little over an hour this flawed production is indicative of how important the 'Welshness' of the play is.
The director Gareth Nicholls has eschewed any attempt to recreate the Welsh accent and its rhythms which are so vital to any production of Under Milk Wood and has his cast create an almost paint-by-numbers performance. The abridgement by Lyda Radley is also slightly patchy which fails to aid the cast.
Whilst there are a small number of other accents used most of the cast speak in Scottish dialect, and not one Welsh twang is heard. This is increasingly unfortunate as Dylan Thomas himself pointed out the importance of the words to his premiere American cast in the 50s and this production seems to have missed this important fact. It is, after all, a 'play for voices': Rather the director has live music throughout which has the unfortunate effect of often drowning out the actors and whilst Michael John McCarthy's original score is nice it does intrude upon the play. In fact it's almost as if the director had little trust in Thomas' writing. Nicholls' ignoring of the rhythmic value of the Welsh accent was also detrimental to what was heard - it lost much humour and pathos in the performance although, credit to Thomas' writing, some humour was still present if it was the of the more obvious type. The Scots dialect has quite a different quality to the sing-song of Southern Welsh and this quality was sorely missing. As with the writing of Shakespeare the rhythm os the writing is important and to ignore it is to a productions cost.
Another bug-bear of mine was in the pronunciation of the Welsh words: Indeed, upon hearing 'Llareggub' pronounced 'Laregub' (emphasis on the 'e') constantly I was getting more and more irritated. There really is no excuse not to be able to pronounce these words as the famous Richard Burton recordings are readily available as a reference. Rather it spoke of a lazy attitude towards authenticity on the part of the director.
Charlotte Lane's design, which consisted of the interior of the Sailor's Arms - and nothing else, was pleasant but had the unfortunate effect of placing every event in the play within the confines of the pub. That and the fact that every character was plied with drink throughout gave a rather bad impression that this was a town full of alcoholics and given that hundreds of empty glass bottles were used as border to the set this was confirmed. The concept of setting the entire thing within the physical confines of the local was a little confusing given that most of the play happens in other locations around Llareggub.
On a more positive note there were some nice performances including those given by Grant McDonald, Matt Littleson and Jacqueline Thain and the live band were really quite good.
All in all this was rather a bit of a missed opportunity. It would also have been appreciated if the production was advertised as an abridged version but this was not so in any of the advertising.
Showing posts with label Under Milk Wood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Under Milk Wood. Show all posts
Sunday, 20 July 2014
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
"Under Milk Wood", Swansea Grand Theatre, 20/3/2014
For the centenary of Dylan Thomas' birth and the 60th anniversary of his "play for voices' Clwyd Theatr Cymru are touring "Under Milk Wood", although as someone who resides in Glasgow I had to make my way back to the old home town to catch it as the production is not visiting Scotland.
The production is directed by Terry Hands and is a revival of his production of 2000. Given the play was written for the radio the production is lively, extremely funny, visually exciting, full of life and is a beautifully evocative use of Thomas' words.
Hands' direction is more than assured and is quite sublime. Hands has made a play for the ears a true play for the stage although the language is never sacrificed for the visual splendour of the vibrant physical action which utilised such theatrical devices as mime amongst all the physical interaction between the actors who also supplied all the sound effects. The pace of the piece was well handled and varied with the staging controlled and manipulated by an expert director who was able to handle such changes quite subtly. Hands' has brought out the humour, passion, melancholy and sexuality that lies within Thomas' vivacious text, which follows the lives of the inhabitants of Llareggub over the course of a single day, and created a visual production that works in tandem with the words to create a satisfying theatrical unity.
The design by Martyn Bainbridge was elegant yet simple and atmospheric with Hands' own lighting complimenting the overall effect and becoming a subtle character in itself allowing the shifting of time and mood to be conveyed effortlessly, together with Bainbridge's moving sun. The costumes are simple period affairs with most of the cast barefooted, evoking the sense of sleepwalking through a dream.
What helps makes this a true theatrical experience is the production's reliance on the actors, most of whom perform numerous characters, which is totally appropriate. Whilst some characterisation may be seen as heightened (but then so is the play) and some acting choices somewhat "obvious" they are nevertheless appropriate and suited to the piece. But the choices are also varied between each actor and the differing characters most of them perform. Indeed each character is rich and full of life. There was, appropriately, an excellent variety of voices on display - be it between the actors or the varying characters that they play. Likewise the use of actors of varying ages portraying people of all ages (from children to the elderly) was engaging and exciting and fresh. This fact also enabled the stage to never feel or look too cluttered unless it were a deliberate directorial choice. The playing of different characters also allowed the actors numerous opportunity to stretch and use their talents and ranges. Above all there was a wonderful sense of enjoyment from the actors who became another audience when they themselves were not in a particular scene, laughing and listening to those who were performing.
Owen Teale as First Voice has a rich vocal tone that is evocative of Richard Burton but at once quite individual whilst Christian Patterson's Second Voice is a lovely contrast and each weave in and out of the action with aplomb.
It seems unfair to single out any performer in such an ensemble piece but Sara Harris-Davies, Steven Meo and Caryl Morgan certainly get full use out of some of the funniest material.
Given the nature of "Under Milk Wood" it can be a very delicate piece to stage. My first encounter with Thomas' best know work was when my Secondary school put on a production. Given my young age I can barely recall any of it except that it was funny, a little saucy and the tiered set was blue. In my university days I saw a production by the Wales Theatre Company, directed by Michael Bogdanov, which was a rather laboured affair and stilted and sober a production for my liking. The Clwyd Theatr Cymru production is everything I could have wished for, however, making brilliant use of the vocal prowess of Thomas' whilst understanding that, as a piece of theatre, it also has to be visual. The production is also full of clarity, allowing each moment onstage to be understood and appreciated.
It is interesting to note that this play has made me re-evaluate my cultural identity; as a proud Welshman residing in Scotland, I've never really thought about what it is to be Welsh. Many of my country folk have been dwarfed by English attitudes which have gone on to be seen as 'British' - the whole stiff-upper-lip, solid attitude which has become little more than a stereotype. "Under Milk Wood", in its heightened way, shows what the Welsh really are; creative, passionate and full of life. And it's nice to be reminded of the Welsh-within, especially given that the play's director is English. Indeed, I recall in my youth the attitudes we held which were then tempered by the 'British' ideals. In these days were cultural identity is more freely expressed it's been a joy to rediscover the truth of oneself. And it's a shame the production won't be visiting London anytime soon ...
The production is directed by Terry Hands and is a revival of his production of 2000. Given the play was written for the radio the production is lively, extremely funny, visually exciting, full of life and is a beautifully evocative use of Thomas' words.
Hands' direction is more than assured and is quite sublime. Hands has made a play for the ears a true play for the stage although the language is never sacrificed for the visual splendour of the vibrant physical action which utilised such theatrical devices as mime amongst all the physical interaction between the actors who also supplied all the sound effects. The pace of the piece was well handled and varied with the staging controlled and manipulated by an expert director who was able to handle such changes quite subtly. Hands' has brought out the humour, passion, melancholy and sexuality that lies within Thomas' vivacious text, which follows the lives of the inhabitants of Llareggub over the course of a single day, and created a visual production that works in tandem with the words to create a satisfying theatrical unity.
The design by Martyn Bainbridge was elegant yet simple and atmospheric with Hands' own lighting complimenting the overall effect and becoming a subtle character in itself allowing the shifting of time and mood to be conveyed effortlessly, together with Bainbridge's moving sun. The costumes are simple period affairs with most of the cast barefooted, evoking the sense of sleepwalking through a dream.
What helps makes this a true theatrical experience is the production's reliance on the actors, most of whom perform numerous characters, which is totally appropriate. Whilst some characterisation may be seen as heightened (but then so is the play) and some acting choices somewhat "obvious" they are nevertheless appropriate and suited to the piece. But the choices are also varied between each actor and the differing characters most of them perform. Indeed each character is rich and full of life. There was, appropriately, an excellent variety of voices on display - be it between the actors or the varying characters that they play. Likewise the use of actors of varying ages portraying people of all ages (from children to the elderly) was engaging and exciting and fresh. This fact also enabled the stage to never feel or look too cluttered unless it were a deliberate directorial choice. The playing of different characters also allowed the actors numerous opportunity to stretch and use their talents and ranges. Above all there was a wonderful sense of enjoyment from the actors who became another audience when they themselves were not in a particular scene, laughing and listening to those who were performing.
Owen Teale as First Voice has a rich vocal tone that is evocative of Richard Burton but at once quite individual whilst Christian Patterson's Second Voice is a lovely contrast and each weave in and out of the action with aplomb.
It seems unfair to single out any performer in such an ensemble piece but Sara Harris-Davies, Steven Meo and Caryl Morgan certainly get full use out of some of the funniest material.
Given the nature of "Under Milk Wood" it can be a very delicate piece to stage. My first encounter with Thomas' best know work was when my Secondary school put on a production. Given my young age I can barely recall any of it except that it was funny, a little saucy and the tiered set was blue. In my university days I saw a production by the Wales Theatre Company, directed by Michael Bogdanov, which was a rather laboured affair and stilted and sober a production for my liking. The Clwyd Theatr Cymru production is everything I could have wished for, however, making brilliant use of the vocal prowess of Thomas' whilst understanding that, as a piece of theatre, it also has to be visual. The production is also full of clarity, allowing each moment onstage to be understood and appreciated.
It is interesting to note that this play has made me re-evaluate my cultural identity; as a proud Welshman residing in Scotland, I've never really thought about what it is to be Welsh. Many of my country folk have been dwarfed by English attitudes which have gone on to be seen as 'British' - the whole stiff-upper-lip, solid attitude which has become little more than a stereotype. "Under Milk Wood", in its heightened way, shows what the Welsh really are; creative, passionate and full of life. And it's nice to be reminded of the Welsh-within, especially given that the play's director is English. Indeed, I recall in my youth the attitudes we held which were then tempered by the 'British' ideals. In these days were cultural identity is more freely expressed it's been a joy to rediscover the truth of oneself. And it's a shame the production won't be visiting London anytime soon ...
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