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 UNDER MILK WOOD by Dylan Marlais Thomas The Dukes, Moor Lane, Lancaster Thursday 22 September to Saturday 15 October 2005 While the very proper Miss Price makes plans to marry the money-loving draper Mog Edwards to the celebratory ringing of "all the bells of the tills of the town" and Mr Ogmore and Mr Pritchard are still being bossed by their twice-widowed wife... A magical rendition of a classic work "A Play for Voices" Under Milk Wood, by Welsh poet, drunk and dramatist Dylan Thomas Director Ian Hastings' robust, meticulously detailed and sensitive production makes use of eleven actors, six of them Welsh. We saw more of The Dukes' main stage-space than you often see, and the action was played on an uncluttered multi-level set. Costumes and props were authentically immediately post-World War II (the play was almost a decade in the writing), and the versatile and enviably fit cast made extensive use of the space at their disposal.  Jessica Lloyd, Rhainnon Oliver and Erica Eirian as village women
" More than I could have hoped for" The diction and the Welsh accents were impeccable. One lady we spoke to in the interval, from Llandaff, also found the delivery excellent. Not unnaturally glowing with Cambrian pride, she felt the show was "more than I could have hoped for", adding that "we have seen some superb things at The Dukes." Praise indeed from the Valleys! The pace, too, was beautifully judged. The rich, poetic and musical text takes one from bustle to silence, quiet reflection to continuing nagging, humour to pathos. The strong cast took the bare words and on them spun a mesmeric visual spell. The lack of a proscenium, the subtle and frequent lighting shifts, the evocative, simple sound effects all contributed to heightening the visual and dramatic impact. "The right emotional content" Particularly laudable and welcome was the moving and plangent live music. This had been put together by the cast and the director as rehearsals progressed. Quite right, for there is a particular melodic quality in much poetry, prose and theatre of the Celtic tradition. Rather than the thoroughly-drilled Welsh Male Voice Choir, the singing was spontaneous. "There was no Musical Director", Ian Hastings told me. "We just decided to do it. We were seeking the right emotional content". And this quality was clearly in evidence right through the show's overall production values. "Sharp as sciatica" Two students from St Martin's College who were also reviewing the show were also moved. "It was very funny and fast-paced," one of them said. He, too, had noticed that there was no chance whatever of a pin dropping, let alone being heard. "This helps a lot, as there's not a moment when there's not something going on", he added. The lulls in the action, and even the silences, were moving and entrancing too. "Sweet as a razor" In some ways, Under Milk Wood is a one-day's parade of surreal cameos a dream, and I was not quite sure I was actually just seeing it. It had got right 'into my head' which is what every writer, director, actor, artist and musician always strives to do. "Little Britain?" Interestingly, and less cerebrally, one wag in the interval compared the comedy with the BBC's Little Britain. And yes, why not? The play is in many ways a cross between the prototype soap opera and the best of British comedy over the last fifty years. This excellent production, suitable for all the family, is clear evidence that The Dukes goes from strength to strength. Web Links
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