Llareggub - 7pm BBC 1 Wales heno 5/5/14

Any fellow Dylan Thomas fans with access to BBC One Wales at 7 pm this evening may be in for a treat with a performance of Under Milk Wood with an impressive cast:-
“Michael Sheen opens as First Voice, with Tom Jones as Captain Cat, and as each of Dylan’s characters joins in, the piece builds into a collage of famous voices and faces. They include Matthew Rhys, Ioan Gruffudd, Sian Phillips, Jonathan Pryce, Bryn Terfel, Katherine Jenkins, Griff Rhys Jones, Charlotte Church, Robert Pugh, Eve Myles, Owen Teale and Kimberley Nixon.”

What a cast!

To begin at the beginning: It is spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bible-black . . .

I worked (off-stage) on a performance of Under Milk Wood in college. Either we didn’t bother to try Welsh accents, or they were so awful that I’ve wiped them from my memory. In contrast, so many of the lines are permanently burned on my brain, some because they were beautiful, some because they were funny, and some because the actor had a hard time memorizing them & required my prompt over & over during rehearsals. :slight_smile:

My favorite line in the whole play belongs to Miss Myfanwy Price, who has the hilarious love affair with Mr. Mog Edwards: “I will knit you a wallet of forget-me-not blue, for the money to be comfy.”

Yes, there are some wonderful quotable quotes, aren’t there? I love the characterisation, too. I have always identified with Nogood Boyo and I have my very own Mrs Dai Bread Two but I shall never reveal who she is. :slight_smile:

My earliest memory of UMW was listening to my Auntie Nancy’s recording (possibly even 78 rpm) with Richard Burton and equally stellar cast.

I’ve got the Richard Burton version on my iPhone. :slight_smile:

Diane: I’ve got the Richard Burton version on my iPhone. :slight_smile:

Does that resonant P’talbot voice come through? :slight_smile:

Well I’ve never seen or heard a better rendition. It is a tribute to Dylan’s genius that, almost before the age of television, he created something that fits so beautifully into what that medium can produce.

The diverse and eminent cast of Welsh greats were produced or directed so that they blended seamlessly to tell the story without their egos or fame ever getting in the way. The imagery was warm and evocative. Thomas’s words were embellished by the plaintive and beautiful singing of Kathryn Jenkins and Bryn Terfel. The final shot of Matthew Rhys stepping out of a New York pub where he had been narrating his part was heart-jumping, inspired and totally appropriate.

I liked it. :slight_smile:

Without a doubt the best version I have ever seen, they all played their parts magnificently, it was an absolute pleasure to watch and listen.
A classic

It was fantastic, beautifully done.

We saw the Clwyd theatr Cymru production in Exeter on Friday and then the bbc version tonight. It was brilliant seeing it live in the theatre- fantastic energetic cast and great set.

Second all of this and more, just caught up with it via the ‘wonders’ of SKY. I have an Aldine (Dent) copy of the work which is heavily censored (1972)comes out as ‘Llaregyb’ etc, so the heavily sexual version broadcast was quite something to hear and watch. made me wonder how they got away with it before the so-called ‘watershed’. Anyhow, da iawn Dylan bach a mae hi’n Di Botcher…remember her on the HWB celebs programme?. Richard Harrington popped up at one point as well

The one show from college I deeply regret not having been in. It was a student production being directed by a friend of mine, but when she announced she would be doing it I had already committed to another play. As I recall, they did attempt Welsh accents, some with more success than others. I hope that sometime one of the community theatres near us will do it; I will certainly audition if one does.

Like Caroline, we saw the Clwyd theatr Cymru version when they came to York a couple of weeks ago. it was a great production and very well received by the audiences and in the local Press.

Does this make it to America or anywhere overseas for that matter on the iplayer or any of the BBC’s media platforms?..Has 'Hinterland; made it now that the BBC4 showings have started? www.bbc.co.uk/dylanthomas for those of us at home

Stuart, the streaming video service Netflix recently announced that it’s bought Hinterland for distribution in the US and Canada. I don’t know when it will be available.

I think there’s a reasonable hope that the BBC will release the new Under Milk Wood in some form (DVD, whatever), and that it will show up over here at some point.

That was gorgeous!

Wow! I was spell bound. I’ve never heard or read Under Milk Wood until watching this on iplayer (Diolch i Huw, dwi ddim wedi colli allan.Peryg o fyw yn Lloegr!) I’m definitely going to buy a copy of the text to take in at my leisure. I’ll be taking my hiraeth enfawr into my dreams tonight.

How wonderful was that! And Tom Jones was really good - very surprised.

Tom Jones ‘really good’…its not unusual…where has the Peter Blake exhibition of the Under Milk Wood images ended up? It was sensational at the National Museum in Cardiff the other month

It was really excellent. I managed to get it on iPlayer, but it is still available to download via the internet, so anyone in England who missed it, should still be able to watch it.