'Under Milk Wood’

Press, 29 September 1988, Page 8

'Under Milk Wood’

“Under Milk Wood,” by Dylan Thomas, adapted from the radio play. A Riccarton Players production at the Mil! Theatre, Wise Street, directed by Lex Matheson. September 28 to October 2, and October 5 to 8. Running time: 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Reviewed by Elody Rathgen. It is a huge undertaking to produce a stage version of “Under Milk Wood.” Only an amateur theatre company could afford to these days because of the size of cast required, and so it is a rare occasion. Inevitably, with such a large cast the standard of performance varies tremendously. The production also labours under the difficulty of comparisons with earlier radio versions, particularly the superb recording featuring Richard Burton. Two narrator-onlookers carried the audience through the sleeping and waking hours of the small Welsh town, inviting us into the public and private lives of its villagers.. Janet Scott and Jo Collins helped keep up the flow of the production, although their recital of the Dylan Thomas poetic prose was not always clear enough. Perhaps they were trying to do too much with the text, which really speaks beautifully enough without the breathy embroidery they and other cast members were inclined to give it. r

In a confined theatre space the large cast moved on and off efficiently enough. However, the numerous scenes faded in and out too fast for the audience to appreciate fully the ironic details of the text. The enthusiastic and big first-night audience mostly responded to the “bawdy bits” rather ■than to the subtleties of the story. Few individual characters had the opportunity to establish themselves firmly in the memory of the audience. But there was a general impression given of the people belonging to the village — the gossips, the maintainers of morality and the flouters of morality, those with their private fantasies and those with their public sins. The production had some nice moments of chorus work, the neighbours gossiping and the children teasing and playing, for example. Some of the play’s favourite and famous characters such as Mr and Mrs Pugh, Mr and Mrs Organ Morgan, and the Rev. Eli Jenkins sprang briefly to life. Some insensitive audience responses apart, there were also distracting sound effects at times, and some wandering lighting. In spite of the courage of the director, Lex Matheson, to bring the play to life the choice of “Under Milk Wood” was really too ambitious for this company.