Under Milk Wood and other plays

Written by Dylan Thomas

Narrated by Richard Burton, Hugh Griffith and Richard Bebb

Under Milk Wood is Dylan Thomas’s undisputed and unforgettable masterpiece – an affectionate, but hilarious portrait of a small Welsh town. The classic 1954 recording, featuring a perfect cast led by Richard Burton as ‘First Voice’, is rightly considered to be definitive. This collection also includes two earlier radio programmes: Return Journey to Swansea and Quite Early One Morning, read by Dylan Thomas and others. Enjoyable in their own right, they also provide a fascinating insight into the process that led towards Under Milk Wood.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks
• Release date: Oct 1, 2008
• ISBN: 9789629547608

Dylan Thomas

Dylan Thomas, born in 1914, began his career as a journalist in his native Swansea, Wales. He then moved to London where he worked in broadcasting and wrote film scripts, prose and drama to earn enough money to enable him to write what he most wanted to—poetry. He lived colorfully, even recklessly, until his untimely death in New York City in 1953. One of the 20th century’s most treasured writers, Dylan Thomas was a master craftsman of poetic complexity and richly obscure imagery. Thomas’s genius is made clear in this landmark recording through the everlasting gift he has given the word—his voice.

Reviews for Under Milk Wood and other plays

[johnbratby · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've read the reviews for the "conventional" copies of this book/play. I say conventional, but there is nothing conventional about the works of Dylan Thomas - just sheer literary genius. I've read the book, seen the play, watched it on television, have at least two LP's of various versions, and finally bought the ultimate version, which is anything but conventional. I just used that word to distinguish it from all the other versions. This must be one of the most important pieces of calligraphy of the last century, and was commissioned in 1961 by Edward Hornby. " The choice of the text was central to the artist's inspiration. The layout of the play gave pattern to the pages. The voices of the characters added variety, the musical quality of the language and underlying sound of the sea combined to engender a use of colour as harmony that is one of Sheila's special gifts. This is sustained throughout the eighty pages of the original folio."I urge anyone who is a devotee of the works of Dylan Thomas to see this edition. It adds a whole new dimension to the work!

[sfcscribd · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Stream of consciousness Welsh rarebit lullaby trance narrative enhances sleep

[basiltherat_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A play for voices. A literary symphony

[tedrick_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Evocative poetry in prose, it must be the Welsh blood

[fraxi_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

First read this in the early sixties and really rated it highly. Re-reading it now, it still excites and amazes in parts, but as a whole, it is not the masterpiece I once thought it was. Must get hold of a recording, because its better listened to than read.

[michael8xolotl · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

If I could go back in time about 45 minutes ago and beat myself into a bloody, vegetative state, or at least into an illiterate delirium, so that I wouldn't have read this book, I would. If I could fit pliers into my ears so that I could rip out the sound of this play from my head forever, I would. If I could dig up Dylan Thomas' body and rig it with explosives and blow it up, making me blind from the concussion and so ensuring that I never accidentally read so much as a line of this again, because I know I'm too lazy to learn Braille, I would.

[ellenmarine · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

To my mind - and probably to the annoyance of a lot of Shakespeare purists - the best play ever written.At times, it feels like one long poem. The language (which includes - albeit selectively - nonsense words of Thomas' own ingenious invention) is quite simply beautiful. The characters are unique and memorable, and the narrative is positively dreamlike. Amazing, amazing piece of literature.

[jppoetryreader · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Somewhere I heard this referred to as a verse play and thus bought a copy because Dylan Thomas is a favorite poet of mine. However, it only occasionally breaks out into verse and that is largely folksy, coming from the mouths of the residents of a small Welsh town. It's not the sonic fireworks I love in Thomas. So the poetry was entirely disappointing to me. Dylan's prose, though, is rich and fun and the play overall is still enjoyable. The cast of characters are a bit of a jumble until about midway through. At that point, I started recognizing who was who. The townspeople are rendered both humorously and poignantly by turns. As a fan of Dylan Thomas, I'm glad to have it on my shelf but it didn't wow me as some of his work does.

[steve6clason · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"I want to be a good boyo, but nobody'll let me." Really. That's five stars right there and ought to be on my headstone. Much better to listen to than to read but still a rollickin' great time.

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A radio 'feature', rather than a play, according to the introduction to my edition, Under Milk Wood is amazing. It's full of lively, unique description, a rapidfire sketch of village life. I can't even pick out a part I like best because all of it is vivacious and interesting. The description, on the first page, for just one example, of the night, 'starless and bible-black'. Dylan Thomas knew what he was doing when it came to language, at all times, and it shows.

The introduction to this edition, by Walford Davies, is a very good one, giving an idea of the background of the story, context to explain what's going on, bits about Dylan's writing process... And the back is full of explanatory notes.

A quick read. Likely to reward rereading richly, I'd say.

[menahem luz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Pts 1-2 the readings inspiring, pt 3 less well read