Under Milk Wood @ Tron

The Tron celebrates the launch of the Commonwealth Games with Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood. Directed by Gareth Nicholls, the play unravels a day in the lives of the inhabitants of Llareggub, a fictional fishing village in Wales, and their passions, desires, and dreams.

Originally a radio play (1954), Under Milk Wood is inevitably word-heavy. Thomas’s language frames each scene quite well, while the fifteen-strong cast (not including the three musicians) seem to have their work cut out for them in order to ensure they keep each role they play separate. They convey each character through their accessories, tying identity to the small details, such as the kind of drink the characters might have – for example, Lord Cutlass (Grant McDonald) who has 66 clocks in his house, drinks from a glass that resembles an hourglass.

Nicholls’ choice of setting the play in the Sailor’s arms, Llareggub’s local pub, and giving the bar staff (Matt Littleson, Peter Lannon and Nicole Sargent) the roles of the three narrators comes across as slightly bizarre and distancing from the action, as actions are described but not performed. On the other hand, it seems a wise directorial decision, since the bartender-narrators remain consistent throughout, and upholds the idea of the bartender as someone who tends to hear a lot about people's individual lives. 

For a play that covers twenty four hours over an hour and five minutes, Nicholls’ Under Milk Wood doesn’t feel rushed, and seems to follow the trend of inserting live music (with an enticingly dramatic double bass) into theatre. With moments of comedy, awkwardness and fantasy dotted throughout, it becomes fun to watch, as it follows the lives of ordinary people. [Eric Karoulla]