Under Milk Wood. Common Ground Theatre Company. Broadbent Theatre, Wickenby. 20 October 2026.

It is not often I review a show and think that the company is at a bit of a disadvantage because I am the reviewer. However, when Common Ground Theatre Company, Lincoln invited me to review their latest show, they could not have known that they were inviting a WELSH reviewer who has received a PhD in Welsh theatre. Indeed, I covered Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas in my thesis: Under An English Gaze. It is a play I know very well. It is a play that is perhaps more responsible than any other in British theatre canon for how Welshness is perceived in Anglophone plays - the very core of my PhD thesis. I had to determine to put my own research to one side in order to review this new production of Thomas's most famous work, fairly.

"To begin at the beginning..." I loved the aesthetic choice made to present the work as a live radio broadcast from Maida Vale Studio. The cabaret tables and the formal wear of the cast gave it an air of sophistication and elevated it from a simple attempt to bring the fictional village of Llareggub to life on stage. Instead, Director Colin Brimblecombe has chosen to locate it on a very specific date - July 28th 1965. This date celebrates the 100th anniversary of a group of Welsh people landing and settling in Patagonia, establishing one of the only Welsh-speaking communities outside Wales. Thus, we are led to believe that this performance is simultaneously being broadcast to both the UK and Patagonia with clocks displaying the time in Buenos Aires and London, on either side of the stage.

All parts are played by eleven performers including the Director himself and Musical Director, Hannah Borrill. As it is a radio play, performers slip effortlessly between characters, showing formidable differentiation and dexterity as they do so. Armed with scripts and minimal props to assist with the Foley (live sound effects), the cast demonstrate skill, enjoyment and a willingness to go with the madcap dreams of the habitually drunk Dylan Thomas. The play is a play for voices and that is precisely how this company presented it.

The performance is opened by a radio announcer telling us that we are witnessing a live radio play from the BBC's Maida Vale Studio and the play itself, opens with the sonorous, meditative tones of the First and Second Voices played by Ruth Andrews and Colin Brimblecombe respectively, setting the scene of a village located beneath the titular wood, at peace as night turns to day and business begins. The citizens start to go about their day and the voices begin, We meet Captain Cat, played by Lindsey Slapp, who though blind is still fully aware of everything going on in the village from the sound alone, haunted by the ghosts of his past with impressive and creative use of tankards to create ghostly voices.

As night turns to dawn, and dawn turns to day, we meet an incredible array of characters we learn of the bitchiness and ridiculous tattle tales that so often accompany village life. We meet the haggard old women, the drunken men and the young girls who inspire lust amongst the more virile males in the village.

There are too many characters, plots and subplots to detail every last one on here and it would be unfair to single out every performance of every character, because this is a solid cast who all offer a wide array of voices and characters to the overall play. Instead of mentioning every role they play; I shall single out their standout characters and let readers decide for themselves when they see the show in person.

Sam Mitchell somehow almost physically embodies Dylan Thomas himself, as the radio announcer and I especially enjoyed his interpretation of the Reverend Eli Jenkins, a man of both God and poetry. His imposing figure often takes centre stage with real authority. Sharon Sycamore-Batty provides many comic moments throughout with her range of characters. I particularly enjoyed her interpretation of Myfanwy Price. Her physicalisation, though not essential had it been a "real" radio broadcast, helped to slip effortlessly into character and her facial expressions made for a memorable performance.

As Mr and Mrs Pugh, David Hitchings and Su Toogood make a deliciously unpleasant couple. He as the hen-pecked husband dreaming of ending his wife in increasingly gruesome ways and she as the shrew, belittling and correcting her husband unnecessarily perhaps. Hitchings facial expressions are a joy to behold and Toogood's bearing and stature bring a chilling authority to her character. Hitchings also brings vigour to his many and varied roles throughout.

As Mary Anne Sailors, Dot Brooke-Tailor is delightful "I am 85 years, 3 months and a day!" she declares, all whilst demonstrating deeply held religious beliefs and disapproving of her grandson's romantic liaison with Gossamer Beynon (again played brilliantly by Sycamore-Batty). She also has the onerous task of performing lines in Welsh which is not easy for a non-Welsh speaker to convey. Brooke-Taylor's face is a joy to behold throughout conveying her genuine pleasure from performing.

Gemma Howatt plays a variety of roles and immerses herself within each character including Mrs Organ Morgan and Mrs Dai Bread Two. So too, does Laura Davies who absolutely relishes the role of Gwennie teasing the boys and encouraging them to kiss her or pay her a penny. Davies is wonderful as the village tease who will grow up to become the subject of village scandal and gossip in years to come!

Bianca Hutchings performs in Spanish for the benefit of the simultaneous broadcast. Her other roles include Rosie Probert, teh love of Captain Cat's life, Lily Smalls and in stark contrast, Mrs Ogmore Pritchard the widow of two men that she has nagged to death and beyond the grave.

Special mention must be made of Lindsey Slapp's ability to float from one character to another, each with a distinct voice and bearing. Captain Cat's melancholic, regretful tone contrasts wonderfully with his "Voice of a Guide Book" and other roles including various children, PC Attila Rees, Ocky Milkman and Dai Bread.

It was truly delightful to hear live singing and music throughout this production and full credit must go to Hannah Borrill for her direction in this regard. She also plays violin and sings unaccompanied in the role of Polly Garter, a vibrant, free-spirited single mother and washerwoman. The underlying choral music and hum of familiar Welsh tunes including Ar Hyd Yr Nos, definitely added another dimension to the performance.

Overall, Brimblecombe's production creates a dream-like community, floating in and out of our consciousness, populated by larger than life individuals that I would hardly wish to meet in real life - but was immensely pleased to spend an evening in their company. As the production slips into "sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack, fishing boat-bobbing sea" I would remind the reader that, though perhaps the best known theatrical presentation of Welshness, it is hardly a fair reflection of the Wales of the 21st Century, but audiences should be prepared to be charmed on their journey into the psyche of Dylan Thomas.

The production runs from Thursday 22 October to Saturday 24 October. Performances start at 7:30 PM each night, with tickets priced at £13 (or £12 for concessions). It is probably worth mentioning that the play is performed without an interval for those who made need to avail themselves to the amenities before the play commences! Pob lwc i'r Common Ground Theatre Company.

Andy Evans 21 October 2026