Plan B Forum

Be sure to experience Dylan Thomas: Return Journey in July, a critically acclaimed production memorialising the short yet prolific life of venerated Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Directed by Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins, Return Journey has attracted over 80 000 audience members world wide, and is in Australia concluding a global tour.

Welsh actor Bob Kingdom immortalises in this one man play that captures the essence of the poet himself – a man forever conflicted by undeniable creativity and self-destructive impulses which ultimately led to his untimely death at the age of 39. Widely regarded for his work as a solo performer, Kingdom carries a presence on stage that commands attention.

Caroline Stacey, artistic director/CEO of The Street Theatre, is rightly excited about the production.
“Return Journey blends the stories and the poetry of Dylan Thomas with incisive commentary on the nature of performing, audiences and the American touring circuit,” she says. “Crammed full of bewitching tales, and the beauty, humour, passion and dry wit of Dylan Thomas, audiences can expect a tour-de-force portrayal of the poet”

Alone on a darkened stage, Bob Kingdom breathes life into the poetry and prose writings of Wales' most celebrated bard.

Dylan Thomas: Return Journey is more than an account of the poet's impressions of his hometown, Swansea, on the Welsh coast. It is also a return to the lost tradition of solo recitations of the classic works of literary giants.




With the assurance of a master of his craft, Kingdom mesmerises with mellifluous tones, bathing his audience in the lyrical language of Swansea's painter of words. Familiar poetic devices wash over us, swirling with imagery and carrying us along on an extravagant tide of emotion and experience. It is the poetry of a poet "in love with man and the shape and sound of words", at times self-deprecating, cloaked in melancholy, or smiling wryly with the ironic observation of the cynic – "Wales is dead from the Eisteddfod up".

Thomas' words sweep over us, enveloping us in the recollections of childhood at his holiday house at Fern Hill, recounting a charabanc outing to Porthcawl with an eccentric collection of characters including his "steaming hulk of an uncle" and the old man, who left his teeth on a mantelpiece in a pub. He notes with surprise the apology he received from an American lecture tour organisation for not turning up to address them. We learn of his battle with gout and alcohol. Kingdom captures with profound pathos Thomas' faded dream of success as hope morphs into Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night. Thomas' proposed collaboration with composer Igor Stravinsky was shattered by the news of Thomas' sad death, only a month after he had written to Stravinsky announcing his planned arrival in Hollywood.

Kingdom's anthology is highly selective. Thomas' achievements in poetry, prose and drama prior to his premature death at 39 are considerable. Audiences may be surprised by the absence of any references to Thomas' most famous dramatic work, Under Milk Wood. Those familiar with the work will hear the language in Kingdom's selection of poems and prose. Close your eyes and you will hear the sound of the sea or the voices of the characters that people Thomas' eccentric world. You will hear the melodies of life in the Welsh villages and feel Thomas' deep affection for his homeland and its people.
Under Anthony Hopkins' direction, you may find the style declamatory. Listen to the voice of the poet sweeping over you in a symphony of sound and image. You will need to listen well to visit Thomas' world and hear in Kingdom's lilting rhythms the feelings and the thoughts of a deeply sensitive poet. Dylan Thomas: Return Journey recalls the intimacy and the solitary world of the artist. As Thomas had a deep affection for the people of his homeland, so too does Kingdom have a deep affection for the works of Dylan Thomas. You will find no better exponent of the Welsh bard's work and no better introduction to the life and work of Dylan Thomas.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/the ... z3h3cUl4di