I’M DYLAN THOMAS | STAGE REVIEW
YMCA Swansea, Thurs 5 Dec
If Dylan Thomas were alive now, what would he be like? This is the premise of I’m Dylan Thomas – a theatrical piece scripted, acted and created by young people attending (or even working at)YMCA Swansea, and directed by Araminta Montgomery.
Keeping to the original sequence of events, the story is still set in Swansea, Laugharne, London, and New York, but with updates and edits. Dylan is a spoken word artist, he and Caitlin meet whilst out clubbing, there is texting (and sexting!), Facebook and all the technology we are used to. Our narrator is a teenage lad who zooms in on a skateboard; our hero is a tattoo and mousatchio’d young man.
There is some clever staging as well. When Dylan and Caitlin appear post-coitus, for example, a duvet and pillow are held before/behind them by other cast members so as to simulate a bed, while the actors are in fact standing up. Much of the tale is told in rhyming couplets which, as a poet who often uses rhyme herself, I liked. Although rhyming whilst still making a line sound natural can be difficult and I felt that this was not always accomplished here.
Still, the energy of this writing style pushed things along swiftly and added to the liveliness of the piece as a whole. More serious notes came courtesy of Caitlin (Jessica Davies) whose monologues were, for me, the most interesting element of the piece. For once the wife’s feelings, as her famous husband lied and cheated on her, were thoughtfully examined. I also liked that Dylan’s friend, Vernon Watkins, was here played by a girl (Atlanta Cotes).
In all, this was an upbeat and entertaining re-telling of the lives of one of Swansea’s best-known sons, with good use of stage, film/image sequences, sound, and props, and the audience appeared to enjoy it immensely.
words MAB JONES
