Show: Under Milk Wood
Society: Swansea Little Theatre
Venue: Dylan Thomas Theatre
Credits: Dylan Thomas
Type: Sardines
Performance Date: 28/10/2011
Under Milk Wood
Paul Johnson | 01 Nov 2011 12:42pm
“To begin at the beginning”
Under Milk Wood is so well known particularly in Swansea that it was always going to be a challenging piece to take on. Set aside the fact that you have a cast of over 60 characters and huge swathes of beautiful poetry to remember you can be sure that somewhere in the audience will be at least one person who knows every word! I’m sure that the audience applause before the final word had been fully uttered was a result of their knowledge of the script not an earnest desire to get back out to the bar because this cast captivated us all the way through.
Under Milk Wood is a true ensemble piece (although it has been done as a one woman show!) and this ensemble was truly tested to their limits, not only performing multiple roles but fast costume changes as well; they must have been exhausted afterwards. The decision to double or quadruple up on roles did make it somewhat challenging for the audience to always warm to each individual, by the time you had worked out: “which one’s she again” they were off. Despite that the cast managed to bring real variety to the characters they played, special mention should be given to Bruce Burniston whose ‘Mog Edwards’ and ‘Mr Pugh’ were so different and well characterised that it took a glance in the programme to confirm it was the same man playing both. Pam Longden also gave two beautifully contrasted performances as the horrible ‘Mrs Pugh’ and the dainty ‘Mary Ann’ not forgetting her fantastic nosy neighbour alongside Sally Woodward which took us straight into the tiny Welsh village atmosphere! As an ensemble the group achieved some beautiful moments and friezes when all onstage together although I would have liked to see more of those ensemble moments spread throughout the production. One thing that everyone excelled at (and which is much harder than it looks) was continuing silent conversations in the background. There was no ‘rhubarbing’ here, believable conversations were taking place with each character speaking in turn and responding to one another you really believed that genuine dialogue was happening, particularly in the village pump scene. In an ensemble piece it is impossible to comment on all those involved however Sally Woodward managed to shine in all her roles, her poignant ‘Polly Garter’ and the raucous ‘Mrs Cherry-Owen’ achieved a depth of character even in the shortest onstage appearances. Another brilliant performance came from Gillan Neal particularly as the postman travelling from door to door delivering the letters he had already memorised. Three members of the cast remained onstage for the entirety of the show, a challenge in itself particularly for ‘Captain Cat’ (Mel Longden) who barely moved from his chair. Mel showed real commitment to the character; entering and leaving the set as the blind old sea captain even during blackouts, his focus never wavered. So now onto the two voices; our narrators who carry huge amounts of the poetry. Gerald Roderick opened the proceedings with confidence and managed to own the stage throughout, easily manoeuvring around the complex tongue twisters he was part of the action at all times. The problem perhaps was that his performance was too good; he seemed to overshadow Clare Owen who spent most of the production relegated to a perch on the very edge of the stage and rarely lit!There was a very uneven balance of the text sharing often leaving Clare out of the action for long periods which made it more difficult for her to appear included. The lack of a welsh accent and a strangely modern costume seemed to push her out of the frame even more which was a real shame.
The rest of the costumes were really well suited to all the characters and the few slightly too modern pieces were easily forgiven as they flew from one side of the stage to the other. Perhaps however the simplicity of the changed hat for the transformation between Waldo and Cherry Owen might have been extended to a few more characters to allow them to spend more time onstage? The whole ensemble however looked stunning against the beautiful Theatre Na n’Og set constructed out of the jumble of the lives of those onstage. The whole thing was well lit (apart from the narrators corner) with the sunrise and sunsets in particular looking superb. The whole cast should be congratulated on bringing the piece to life charmingly, holding the audience’s attention throughout; and as I hear the event is annual I’ll be sure to try and return another year.
- : admin
- : 28/10/2011