Under Milk Wood
Fri, 26 Sept 2003, 02:21 pmLibby16 posts in thread
Under Milk Wood
Fri, 26 Sept 2003, 02:21 pmI had heard quite a bit about Deckchair's production of Under Milk Wood, so curiosity aroused I trotted along to see it last night.
To go into a long detailed review would spoil the surprises for everyone, but here are some brief points...
Under Milk Wood, for those unfamiliar with the play/poem, was written by Dylan Thomas originally for voices only. We are shown a day in the life of the seemingly sleepy town Llareggub, its inhabitants and their innermost thoughts.
One of the highlights for me was Renee McIntosh singing Polly Garter's song- just beautiful, especially with the acoustics in the Victoria Hall. In fact, Renee, Claire Hooper and Christina Critch did a great job juggling characters throughout (although I did wonder what the point was of having Claire stand to the side when not onstage most of the time).
Elwyn Edwards did a marvellous job as the all-knowing First Voice, the link between audience and players. The image that was created as he stood downstage with his shadow cast upon each wall was a good lighting design choice.
Yes, there is a lot of audio/visual material- in fact four of the cast we never see, just hear. Anyone who knows the play knows what a nightmare it is casting for sixty-plus characters, and as such using voiceovers is a good way of dealing with this. For the most part it works quite well, although I did find myself growing a little weary of them towards the end.
In my humble opinion, it's well worth going to have a look, as it's a very different take on a classic piece. I enjoyed it and was entertained by it, but I think I'll have to go away and think some more about it.
Sure to delight some and jar others, make the trek down and decide for yourselves, I'm interested to hear what others thought.
And remember to take a coat to wear in the chilly Victoria Hall!
deckchair theatre's Under Milk Wood. Running Tues-Sat, 20 Sept- 4 Oct. 8pm. Victoria Hall, 179 High St Fremantle. $25/$20
To go into a long detailed review would spoil the surprises for everyone, but here are some brief points...
Under Milk Wood, for those unfamiliar with the play/poem, was written by Dylan Thomas originally for voices only. We are shown a day in the life of the seemingly sleepy town Llareggub, its inhabitants and their innermost thoughts.
One of the highlights for me was Renee McIntosh singing Polly Garter's song- just beautiful, especially with the acoustics in the Victoria Hall. In fact, Renee, Claire Hooper and Christina Critch did a great job juggling characters throughout (although I did wonder what the point was of having Claire stand to the side when not onstage most of the time).
Elwyn Edwards did a marvellous job as the all-knowing First Voice, the link between audience and players. The image that was created as he stood downstage with his shadow cast upon each wall was a good lighting design choice.
Yes, there is a lot of audio/visual material- in fact four of the cast we never see, just hear. Anyone who knows the play knows what a nightmare it is casting for sixty-plus characters, and as such using voiceovers is a good way of dealing with this. For the most part it works quite well, although I did find myself growing a little weary of them towards the end.
In my humble opinion, it's well worth going to have a look, as it's a very different take on a classic piece. I enjoyed it and was entertained by it, but I think I'll have to go away and think some more about it.
Sure to delight some and jar others, make the trek down and decide for yourselves, I'm interested to hear what others thought.
And remember to take a coat to wear in the chilly Victoria Hall!
deckchair theatre's Under Milk Wood. Running Tues-Sat, 20 Sept- 4 Oct. 8pm. Victoria Hall, 179 High St Fremantle. $25/$20
Re: Long Life Milkwood?
Fri, 10 Oct 2003, 08:02 amWalter Plinge
Sorry, Norma, you are wrong!
It is NOT now 75 years.
A couple of years ago Europe decided to standardise their copyright laws, and they decided the easiest thing to do would be for everyone to up their protection to whoever had the highest. In this case it was Germany with 70 years.
The rest of the world followed suit.
EXCEPT FOR AUSTRALIA!!!
Yes, it is now 70 years in the UK
BUT it is still only 50 in Australia
And there are no moves to change this in the near future!
To quote from the Australian Copyright Council's Information Sheet G23 "Duration of Copyright" which was reissued in June 2003:
"Type of Work: Literary Works, dramatic and musical works. If published , performed, broadcast or recorded and offered for sale in creator's lifetime.
"Period of Protection: Life of creator plus 50 years from end of year of creator's death."
also
"Can I use a work that is still in copyrightoverseas, if copyright has expired in Australia?
"If you are using material in Australia, then the Australian Copyright Act applies."
This is the sort of confusion that may have caused some clubs/theatres to pay for rights that were not required.
If someone as knowledgeable and switched on as Norma has gotten it
wrong, then how many other people have as well?
Paul Treasure
"Bush Copyright Lawyer"
It is NOT now 75 years.
A couple of years ago Europe decided to standardise their copyright laws, and they decided the easiest thing to do would be for everyone to up their protection to whoever had the highest. In this case it was Germany with 70 years.
The rest of the world followed suit.
EXCEPT FOR AUSTRALIA!!!
Yes, it is now 70 years in the UK
BUT it is still only 50 in Australia
And there are no moves to change this in the near future!
To quote from the Australian Copyright Council's Information Sheet G23 "Duration of Copyright" which was reissued in June 2003:
"Type of Work: Literary Works, dramatic and musical works. If published , performed, broadcast or recorded and offered for sale in creator's lifetime.
"Period of Protection: Life of creator plus 50 years from end of year of creator's death."
also
"Can I use a work that is still in copyrightoverseas, if copyright has expired in Australia?
"If you are using material in Australia, then the Australian Copyright Act applies."
This is the sort of confusion that may have caused some clubs/theatres to pay for rights that were not required.
If someone as knowledgeable and switched on as Norma has gotten it
wrong, then how many other people have as well?
Paul Treasure
"Bush Copyright Lawyer"
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