Under Milk Wood
by Dylan Thomas
Production Date: 8th-9th March 2013
Director: Marylin Apps
Synopsis
Set during the course of one day, Dylan Thomas sets out to bring the characters of the Welsh seaside town of Llareggub to life and to peek inside their homes, lives and dreams. Partly narrated by Voices One and Two and partly enacted, the story unfolds in beautiful poetry and prose.
This is a seaside town of the early fifties and fishermen still go out on their boats each day. The sea is important to Llareggub as it underlines the nature of the inhabitants with their "picturesque sense of the past". You must imagine therefore that you are bobbing about on the sea in perhaps the Arethusa or the Skylark, observing the colourful characters; Mr Waldo, murderous Mr Pugh, prim and proper Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard, Polly Garter and desperately lovesick Mr Mog Edwards (to name but a few) as they gossip, love, lie, drink, dance, dream, mope, mop and sing their way through one spring day.
Cast
First Voice - Liz Adamson
Second Voice/Preacher - Belinda Prince
Captain Cat/ Mr Ogmore/Lord Cutglass/Evans the Death - Andrew Backway
Mog Edwards/Mr Pugh/Mr Pritchard/Sinbad Sailors/Butcher Beynon - Gerry McVicker
Mr Waldo/Organ Morgan/Dai Bread/Rev Eli Jenkins/1st Drowned/Jack Black - Lee Prince
Rosie Probert/Lily Smalls/Bessie Bighead/2nd Neighbour/2nd Woman - Sue Noad
Myfanwy Price/Gwennie/Little Girl - Tess Taylor
Mrs Ogmore Pritchard/Mary Ann Sailors/Matti's Mother - Connie Newman
Mrs Dai Bread One/Mrs Pugh/First Neighbour/1st Woman - Jan Kennard
Mrs Dai Bread Two/Voice of Guide book/5th Drowned/3rd Woman/Mrs Waldo - Karen Jefferies
Mrs Beynon/Mrs Organ Morgan/4th Drowned/Mrs Utah Watkins - Penny Graham
Gossamer Beynon/ Mae Rose Cottage/Little Boy/Girl - Tilly Kennard
Mrs Cherry Owen/2nd Drowned/3rd Neighbour/ Girl - Jodie Eldridge
Mrs Willy Nilly/4th Neighbour/3rd Drowned/4th Woman - Kathy Lewis
Polly Garter - Helen Francis
Willy Nilly/Cherry Owen - Colin Offord
Mr Utah Watkins - Martin Apps
Reviews
From The Record (April 2013 Issue)
"Having noticed the advert for the Russett Players Production of Under Milk Wood in The Record for March I decided to go along to see it on Friday 8 March. I am so pleased that I did. The Russett Players had been formed last year expressly to perform the play in 2013 which is the 60th anniversary of the author, Dylan Thomas's death. They rose to the occasion. The play is about the events of one day in the Welsh seaside town of Llareggub, and has sixty different characters so this meant that some actors had to play six people and make them individually realistic.
The two voices played by Liz Adamson and Belinda Prince were expressive in their setting of the scene and linking the actions of the townspeople. They brought out the poetic nature of Dylan Thomas's writing, handling well the dense, adjective strong descriptions of the wood, the sea, the houses and the streets. From the opening line ’it is spring, moonless night in the small town starless and bible black ' we knew we were with players who loved the work.
It is strange that not many of the marriages are happy; Mr Pugh would like to poison his wife, Mr Organ Morgan bores his wife with his love of Bach, and Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard bullied and nagged her two husbands to early graves and Waldo is an embarrassment to Mrs Waldo and Polly Garter is unmarried but loves babies.
My three favourite characters were prim, house proud Mrs Ogmore Pritchard, Captain Cat in conversations with his drowned mates from his youth as he sleeps in Schooner House. and Rev Eli Jenkins the poet preacher whose first word is 'Eisteddfodau' and Lee Prince does well with Eli's long invocation to innumerable Welsh rivers.
The play had musical interludes which added to the atmosphere and Polly Garter sang well about her dead young lover.
I wish The Russett Players more success and thank them for an entertaining evening on a rainful, windblown, starless, bible black night in Paddock Wood."
- Brian Stevenson
Awards
WINNER of the Billy Can Community Enhancement Award
Click here to view "This is Kent" Article
Director: Marylin Apps
Synopsis
Set during the course of one day, Dylan Thomas sets out to bring the characters of the Welsh seaside town of Llareggub to life and to peek inside their homes, lives and dreams. Partly narrated by Voices One and Two and partly enacted, the story unfolds in beautiful poetry and prose.
This is a seaside town of the early fifties and fishermen still go out on their boats each day. The sea is important to Llareggub as it underlines the nature of the inhabitants with their "picturesque sense of the past". You must imagine therefore that you are bobbing about on the sea in perhaps the Arethusa or the Skylark, observing the colourful characters; Mr Waldo, murderous Mr Pugh, prim and proper Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard, Polly Garter and desperately lovesick Mr Mog Edwards (to name but a few) as they gossip, love, lie, drink, dance, dream, mope, mop and sing their way through one spring day.
Cast
First Voice - Liz Adamson
Second Voice/Preacher - Belinda Prince
Captain Cat/ Mr Ogmore/Lord Cutglass/Evans the Death - Andrew Backway
Mog Edwards/Mr Pugh/Mr Pritchard/Sinbad Sailors/Butcher Beynon - Gerry McVicker
Mr Waldo/Organ Morgan/Dai Bread/Rev Eli Jenkins/1st Drowned/Jack Black - Lee Prince
Rosie Probert/Lily Smalls/Bessie Bighead/2nd Neighbour/2nd Woman - Sue Noad
Myfanwy Price/Gwennie/Little Girl - Tess Taylor
Mrs Ogmore Pritchard/Mary Ann Sailors/Matti's Mother - Connie Newman
Mrs Dai Bread One/Mrs Pugh/First Neighbour/1st Woman - Jan Kennard
Mrs Dai Bread Two/Voice of Guide book/5th Drowned/3rd Woman/Mrs Waldo - Karen Jefferies
Mrs Beynon/Mrs Organ Morgan/4th Drowned/Mrs Utah Watkins - Penny Graham
Gossamer Beynon/ Mae Rose Cottage/Little Boy/Girl - Tilly Kennard
Mrs Cherry Owen/2nd Drowned/3rd Neighbour/ Girl - Jodie Eldridge
Mrs Willy Nilly/4th Neighbour/3rd Drowned/4th Woman - Kathy Lewis
Polly Garter - Helen Francis
Willy Nilly/Cherry Owen - Colin Offord
Mr Utah Watkins - Martin Apps
Reviews
From The Record (April 2013 Issue)
"Having noticed the advert for the Russett Players Production of Under Milk Wood in The Record for March I decided to go along to see it on Friday 8 March. I am so pleased that I did. The Russett Players had been formed last year expressly to perform the play in 2013 which is the 60th anniversary of the author, Dylan Thomas's death. They rose to the occasion. The play is about the events of one day in the Welsh seaside town of Llareggub, and has sixty different characters so this meant that some actors had to play six people and make them individually realistic.
The two voices played by Liz Adamson and Belinda Prince were expressive in their setting of the scene and linking the actions of the townspeople. They brought out the poetic nature of Dylan Thomas's writing, handling well the dense, adjective strong descriptions of the wood, the sea, the houses and the streets. From the opening line ’it is spring, moonless night in the small town starless and bible black ' we knew we were with players who loved the work.
It is strange that not many of the marriages are happy; Mr Pugh would like to poison his wife, Mr Organ Morgan bores his wife with his love of Bach, and Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard bullied and nagged her two husbands to early graves and Waldo is an embarrassment to Mrs Waldo and Polly Garter is unmarried but loves babies.
My three favourite characters were prim, house proud Mrs Ogmore Pritchard, Captain Cat in conversations with his drowned mates from his youth as he sleeps in Schooner House. and Rev Eli Jenkins the poet preacher whose first word is 'Eisteddfodau' and Lee Prince does well with Eli's long invocation to innumerable Welsh rivers.
The play had musical interludes which added to the atmosphere and Polly Garter sang well about her dead young lover.
I wish The Russett Players more success and thank them for an entertaining evening on a rainful, windblown, starless, bible black night in Paddock Wood."
- Brian Stevenson
Awards
WINNER of the Billy Can Community Enhancement Award
Click here to view "This is Kent" Article