A magical sense of a small town community was generated as one arrived, thanks to Welsh cakes and a small tipple being served in the church hall prior to the performance, accompanied by a short speech from the church’s minister. This attention to detail successfully introduced the audience to the story’s small village feel, with the story of the people of Llareggub being told from within the dark church walls once the audience had taken their seats.
The space was simply lit to reflect the 24 hours around which the story is structured. A series of music stands, each with its own additional reading light, were lined up side by side in front of the altar, together with chairs for each player. The play’s ‘narrator’ (Kirk Alexander) took to the church lectern, from which he chimed, charmed, and saucily guided the tale.
Several times throughout proceedings I felt tempted to close my eyes to emulate the experience of listening to the story on the radio, but I never wanted to close my eyes for missing out on the expressions of the players – most notably Alexander, who fully immersed himself in the role of First Voice, and Phil Zachariah, who like the remaining members of the cast played a variety of roles.
Each performer was dressed in a tweed suit in varying shades of green and brown and sustained a consistent flow of energy; and each had perfected their own unique Welsh accent. They sustained an entire 90 minutes of constant talk, as well as playing with instruments and objects to create music and sound with impeccable timing. It was clear that director Jane Woollard had worked hard to make this happen.
It did, however, feel as though they were trying to cram as much of Dylan’s text into the 90 minutes as possible. The performance was set at a steady pace, bouncing from one character to the next – and there were many characters per player – without enough breaks to allow the audience to really catch up. While each performer was clearly very accomplished, the constant steady pace of voices and sound effects became so predictably constant that it was easy to tune out for want of a variety in tempo. With no interval, it was at times hard to concentrate – which indeed could well be a comment on how we are expected to be entertained in the 21st century compared to when the piece was originally written. Regardless of this, the work needed to be better paced to achieve a balance between honouring the original work and creating an adaptation to suit a contemporary audience.
Such qualms aside, however, this was altogether a charming and unique night out.
3 ½ stars out of 5
Whistling Vicar Theatre presents
Under Milk Wood
By Dylan Thomas
Directed by Jane Woollard
Stage Manager: Lyndie Li Wan Po
Crew/Lighting: Shane Thompson
Front of House: Grant Gilchrist & team
Graphic Art: Lliam Amor, Madeleine Tudor
Program: Jennifer Gilchrist
Website: Nick Barker-Pendree
Cast:
Kirk Alexander: First Voice
Nick Barker-Pendree: Mog Edwards, Rev Eli Jenkins, Evans the Death, Mr Pritchard, Utah Watkins, Dai Bread, Lord Cut-Glass, Cherry Owen, Mrs Organ Morgan
Josie Eberhard: Waldo’s Mother, Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard, Mrs Pugh, Mrs Dai Bread Two, Voice of Guide Book
Stefanie Falasca: Lily Smalls, Polly Garter, Mrs Cherry Owen, Bessie Bighead
Jennifer Gilchrist: Miss Price, Waldo’s Wife, Mrs Utah Watkins, Mary Ann the Sailors, Mrs Beynon, Rosie Probert
Carly Schrever: Gossamer Beynon, Mrs Willy Nilly Nilly, Mae Rose-Cottage, Mrs Dai Bread One
Michael Wahr: Organ Morgan, Atilla Rees, Willy Nilly, Sinbad the Sailors, Jack Black
Phil Zachariah: Captain Cat, Butcher Bynon, Mr Ogmore, Waldo, Ocky Milkman, Mr Pugh, Nogood Boyo
Melbourne Welsh Church, La Trobe St, Melbourne
August 16 – September 1
