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Sunday, 29 October 2017

REVIEW: Under Milk Wood at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury


Under Milk Wood was first staged in the West End in 1954, the night before it was broadcast by BBC radio and remains today an innovative and delightful play for voices in which Dylan Thomas wonderful poetic language paints glorious pictures of the people and village of Llareggub in Wales . It was also the first professional play at the fantastic Watermill Theatre and therefore is a fitting revival to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

The Play spans one spring day in the village whose name spells bugger all backwards and while it is true not much happens, we meet and learn about the lives and interests of nearly 50 residents in the village . These characters are played with simple costume changes by an excellent cast of 5 and our guide is Alistair McGowan as the voice. He starts in the darkness with "to begin at the beginning " and the light gradually rises as the day dawns and the characters awake from their dreams. The bare thrust stage , with pale blue clouds on a back cloth provides a blank canvas on which his words paint the various locations from Bay view to Bath cottage and along Coronation street and Donkey street . As he says "the town ripples like a lake in the waking haze".
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