Under Milk Wood: From New York
Michael Sheen leads and directs a cast including Kate Burton and Mark Lewis Jones in a reading of Dylan Thomas's play on the very stage where it was first performed in May 1953.
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Clips
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The White Horse Tavern - Dylan's Second ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ
Duration: 20:31
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Poet Philip Levine on the legacy of Dylan Thomas
Duration: 27:53
Live from New York: Michael Sheen in Under Milk Wood
OurΒ broadcast follows that's run throughout this centenary year. Earlier in 2014,Β ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Wales haveΒ presented a kaleidoscope of programmes across, radio, televisionΒ and online, celebrating the poetβs life, work and legacy.
Michael Sheen says: βIt's a real honour and an absolute thrill to perform Under Milk Wood in this very special year and on the stage that it first found its voice.Β
βThis live radio broadcast is an opportunity to celebrate him and his work in both New York - a city that became so important to Dylan - and, at the same time, in Wales, his inspiration and home.βΒ
In addition to directing, Sheen reads βFirst Voiceβ, the playβs narrator, a part Dylan himself read in the 1953 premiere.Β
The all-Welsh cast also features actress Kate Burton, whose parents, Sybil Williams and Richard Burton, participated in the first ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ radio recording of Under Milk Wood in 1954 - just two months after Thomasβs tragic death in New York. Burton also starred in the 1972 film adaptation of Under Milk Wood.
βIt is very meaningful for me to be participating in this event as my parents were in the original recording,β says Burton. βI am very proud to be Welsh and to carry on the family tradition."Β
Radio Wales editor Steve Austins, said: βI'm really excited to be able to bring our listeners the chance to hear Dylan's masterpiece performed live, in the city he loved, on the stage where it was first performed. And it's wonderful that Michael has come on board to direct and perform in this unique event."
It was 92nd Street Yβs Poetry Center that introduced Thomas to an American audience. Former Poetry Center director John Malcolm Brinnin brought Thomas to 92Y for his first US reading in 1950, and the poet made 11 more appearances at 92Y between 1950 and 1953, including four performances of Under Milk Wood. Brinnin also acted as Thomasβs agent in the US, arranging the reading tours that took him to colleges and universities across the country.
Broadcasts
- Sun 26 Oct 2014 19:00ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Wales
- Christmas Day 2014 15:05ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Wales