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DYLAN THOMAS - UNDER MILK WOOD (320kbs-m4a/218mb/1hr35mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 8th November 2025
Conceived by Welsh poet and writer Dylan Thomas as a piece for performance on radio.
Richard Burton leads a huge cast in the tale about the lives and dreams of a Welsh seaside village called Llareggub.
Tragically, Dylan never heard it broadcast.
He died aged 38, two months before, on 9th November 1953.
First Voice ........ Richard Burton
Second Voice ........ Richard Bebb
Captain Cat ........ Hugh Griffith
Rosie Probert ........ Rachel Thomas
Polly Garter ........ Diana Maddox
Mog Edwards ........ Dafydd Havard
Myfanwy Price ........ Sybil Williams
Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard ........ Dilys Davies
Mr Ogmore ........ David Close-Thomas
Mr Pritchard ........ Ben Williams
Butcher Beynon ........ Meredith Edwards
Gossamer ........ Gwenllian Owen
Rev. Eli Jenkins ........ Philip Burton
Lily Smalls ........ Gwyneth Petty
Mr Pugh ........ John Huw Jones
Mrs Pugh ........ Mary Jones
Mary Ann Sailors ........ Rachel Thomas
Sinbad Sailors ........ Aubrey Richards
Dai Bread ........ David Close-Thomas
Mrs Dai Bread One ........ Gwyneth Petty
Mrs Dai Bread Two ........ Rachel Roberts
Willy Nilly Postman ........ Ben Williams
Mrs Willy Nilly ........ Rachel Thomas
Cherry Owen ........ John Ormord Thomas
Mrs Cherry Owen ........ Lorna Davies
Nogood Boyo ........ Dillwyn Owen
Organ Morgan ........ John Glyn Jones
Mrs Organ Morgan ........ Olwen Brookes
Mary Rose Cottage ........ Rachel Roberts
Gwenny ........ Norma Jones
The three boys: Ian Griffith, John Watts, Philip Cyster
Other parts played by the cast.
Children's songs and singing game by the pupils of Laugharne School
Music composed by Dr Daniel Jones
Singer-accordionist: Barney Gilbraith
Producer: Douglas Cleverdon
First broadcast on the BBC Third Programme in January 1954.
***Broadcast to mark Richard Burton's entry to 4 Extra's 100 Club. Born on 10th November 1925, he died aged 58 on 5th August 1984 ***
Original broadcast BBC One Wales 5th May 2014. Rebroadcast BBC Four 9th November 2023.
A unique one-off television production of Dylan Thomas's famous 'play for voices' performed by a community of Welsh talent in New York, Los Angeles, London, Cardiff and Laugharne. Michael Sheen opens as First Voice with Sir Tom Jones as Captain Cat, and as each of Thomas's iconic characters joins in, the piece builds up into a collage of famous voices and faces (including Matthew Rhys, Ioan Gruffudd, Siân Phillips, Jonathan Pryce, Bryn Terfel and Katherine Jenkins) intercut with evocative imagery inspired by the play and created as part of a live event by National Theatre Wales.
Credits:
Voice .... Michael Sheen
Captain Cat .... Tom Jones
New York Voice .... Matthew Rhys
Laugharne Voice .... Aimee-Ffion Edwards
Drowned and Willy Nilly .... Tom Rhys Harries
Drowned and Voice .... Karl Johnson
Drowned and Evans the Death .... Iwan Rheon
Drowned and Voice .... Aneurin Barnard
Rosie Probert .... Nia Roberts
Mog Edwards .... Ioan Gruffudd
Myfanwy Price .... Kimberley Nixon
Mr Waldo .... Steffan Rhodri
Neighbour .... Mark Lewis Jones
Neighbour .... Richard Harrington
Neighbour .... Sophie Evans
Neighbour .... Melanie Walters
Voice .... Griff Rhys Jones
Voice .... John Rhys-Davies
Voice .... Andrew Howard
Voice .... Rakie Ayola
Mr Pugh .... Jonathan Pryce
Mrs Pugh .... Siân Phillips
Rev Eli Jenkins .... Bryn Terfel
Polly Garter .... Katherine Jenkins
Mrs Ogmore Pritchard .... Charlotte Church
Mr Ogmore .... Tom Ellis
Mr Pritchard .... Aneirin Hughes
Butcher Beynon .... Robert Pugh
Mrs Beynon .... Suzanne Packer
Lily Smalls .... Eve Myles
Mae Rose Cottage .... Alexandra Roach
Nogood Boyo .... Craig Roberts
Mary Ann Sailors .... Sharon Morgan
Dai Bread .... Owen Teale
Mrs Dai Bread One .... Di Botcher
Mrs Dai Bread Two .... Sian Thomas
Sinbad Sailors .... Jon Tregenna
Writer: Dylan Thomas
Director: Pip Broughton
Executive Producer: Bethan Jones
DYLAN THOMAS: THE BEACH OF FALESA (320kbs-m4a/227mb/1hr40mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 20th February 2022
Never filmed screenplay by Dylan Thomas, adapted for radio for the centenary of his birth, and narrated as a 'Film for Voices' by Matthew Rhys.
Wiltshire arrives on an unnamed Pacific island hoping to trade in copra. But an encounter with rival trader Case leads to a macabre wedding. Shunned by the locals, Wiltshire sets out to uncover the secret behind Case's mysterious hold over the islanders, and the truth in the tales of the singing devils living deep in the bush.
Dylan Thomas adapted the short story of the same title by Robert Louis Stevenson to create this screenplay but it was never filmed, despite interest from Richard Burton. So this radio adaptation for the centenary of his birth is the world premiere of a work that blends some of the wordplay of Under Milk Wood with the brooding mystery of Heart of Darkness.
Producer Alison Hindell came across The Beach of Falesa when her stepdaughter moved into a new house in Sydney and found the published edition of the text amongst the remnants left behind by the previous owner.
Narrator ..... Matthew Rhys
Wiltshire ..... Matthew Gravelle
Case ..... Nicky Henson
Uma ..... Fiona Marr
Jenkins / Captain ..... Simon Armstrong
Randall ..... Stephen Critchlow
Little Jack ..... Steve Toussaint
Original music composed by Roger Goula
Sound, Nigel Lewis
Adapted for radio and directed by Alison Hindell
A BBC Cymru Wales production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2014.