Dylan Thomasʼ Under Milk Wood is transformed in the North Melbourne Town Hall, as one woman walks you through a tapestry of dreams, murder, the smell of onions, tiny houses and magnificent words. A one woman show that is equal parts performance and multisensory media experiment.
In this dark and sleepy sea-side town of Llareggub, everyone has a secret. Stories trickle down the damp walls and waft out the windows into the salty air. Norton Lodge plays all 60 odd characters, surrounded by audio-visual scape that mediates whispering abstractions and crystallised images. Straight from a critically acclaimed season at Sydneyʼs Sidetrack Theatre.
TRAILER
Trailer by Vanessa Hughes
WATCH THE PRODUCTION UNFOLD
Under Milk Wood has been a part of Bambina Borracha Productions' Creative Development Program since 2009.
The creative team have blogged the process of creating the world of Under Milk Wood online. The blog is a rare peek into the creation of cross media theatre.
"Here comes talented performer Zoe Norton Lodge, performing the entire cast in a one-woman show. In white overalls, the actor is bold and energetic, moving around a set hung with laundry and dotted with miniature houses. She channels the characters with an emphatic, larger than life delivery that suits the task of distinguishing them all via one voice (in Welsh accents, no less).
An excellent design element is the series of projections on to sheets above the actor - snippets of animation and film that enhance the simplicity of the set.
It's a fresh treatment that invites a second look at Thomas' classic play."
"Vanessa Hughes and Zoe Norton Lodge have created a fast-paced and haunting performance that leaves one hanging from every word. Ranging from sleazy draper to tortured school child, the characters show off Norton Lodge's incredible acting talent as she manages to perfectly capture the varied quirks of the townspeople.
The experimental media also gives a modern twist to the traditional set—the haunting images projected onto the background, combined with an unsettling soundtrack make the show dreamlike.
Under Milk Wood had me completely hooked. It is a credit to Vanessa Hughes that her direction has managed to stray from the original format of the piece while keeping all the key elements so vivid and true. Whether you are familiar with the works of Dylan Thomas or not, Under Milk Wood should definitely not be missed at this year's Fringe Festival."
"..the sniping, the singing, and, of course the drinking; and all of it is brilliantly realised by Zoe Norton Lodge in this brilliant, and in many ways inexplicable, performance.
"Natalie Hughes [has] chosen a very simple set that can be easily transformed through the various props and guises available, underpinned by a multimedia backdrop (designed by director Vanessa Hughes) that adds colour to those sections of the play that require more than one voice at a time.
"As well as being taken in by the story, the audience found itself as if watching a marathon runner, egging her on to the finish line, but watching the grace of her movements on the way. Oh, and the Welsh accent? Fantastic. Watch this while you can."
"Like watching an adult episode of Play School, [Zoe] works her way through chests, fabrics and washing lines, creating new worlds wherever she goes...
"Natalie Hughes' model town set was absolutely inspired... Vanessa Hughes' projections shift seamlessly between ethereal artwork and real black-and-white film footage that never draw attention away from Norton Lodge's performance, but compliment it beautifully.
Tour de force is a critical exclamation exceedingly overused, but I can find no other term capable of properly encapsulating this production."
"An outstanding show both conceptually and in its technical aspects...The video installations were a highlight... Norton-Lodge interacts with her on screen self in some instances adding to the multi layered and involved performance presented.
The lighting is minimal but highly effective... it's another highlight in a production that is obviously a result of a collaborative effort from all members of the production team.
Zoe Norton Lodge...has such a powerful stage presence in this show and her focus and the detail she puts into each character's accent and mannerisms is nothing short of creativity at its absolute best...This production developed over a number of years is well worth it just for Zoe Norton-Lodge's performance alone."
MORE REVIEWS BELOW
WRITTEN BY
Dylan Thomas
Vanessa Hughes
DIRECTOR
+ COMPOSER OF AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA
Zoe Norton Lodge
PERFORMER
Natalie Hughes
SET DESIGNER
"I loved a man" and "Chimbley Sweep" composed by Emily Irvine
"Gwennie" composed by Joseph Littlefield
All media performed by Vanessa Hughes & Zoe Norton Lodge
Photos in this gallery by Vanessa Hughes& Tim Spencer
REHEARSAL ROOM, Melbourne Fringe Festival Hub
24 September - 9 October 2010
Arts House,
33 Errol St
North Melbourne VIC 3051 Click for map
PERFORMANCES
24 September - 9 October 2010
7.40pm Tues-Sat, 6.40 Sundays
Duration 65 mins
TICKETS
Conc $18, Full $21, Group $18, Tightarse Tues $15
Phone Festival Tix: 03 9660 9666 or online.
MORE REVIEWS
Eddie Sharp, Concrete Playground:
"...Hughes' set and video installations are uniformly excellent. They're simple and understated, adding to the performance rather than overpowering it. It's a very confident and accomplished production that I'm sure will have more seasons to come."
Gareth Beal, Arts Hub:
"Ms Norton Lodge is a revelation in each of her sixty-four roles, transforming herself seamlessly from male to female, young to old, in the blink of an eye, wrapping her mouth around a chorus of Welsh accents, her mind around Dylan’s exquisitely winding prose, weaving each dream into utterly convincing reality. I’m a big fan.
But Under Milk Wood is a one-woman show only from a performance point of view. Vanessa Hughes’ direction imbues the play, originally written for radio, with a palpable sense of energy, and her multimedia backdrop provides a suitably vivid landscape. Natalie Hughes’ set design is likewise striking with its miniature lamp-lit houses...
This production is certainly a life-long labour of love, and it shows... So make a point of going to see this one before you do anything else in this life."
"There is much to commend in this production… I believe it is essential for all artists to invest in the stories that they believe in- wholly and completely- stories that make them the people they are, the artists they are. This is a play which means something to the artists… that shows bravery - to reveal something of yourself - something as intimate as your childhood bedtime story.
This is a lyrical and visually poetic adaptation - a love letter to family- to the memory of being read to, a love letter to a feel of “home.” There is a feeling of tender offering from Hughes and Norton Lodge - a little piece of story - delivered with care and caution to those willing to take the time to listen."
John Rozentals, Oz Baby Boomers:
"..it’s well worth nominating Zoe Norton Lodge the theatrical revelation of the year so far. Her one-woman rendition of Under Milk Wood at Marrickville’s tiny new Sidetrack Theatre fairly sizzles with passion, talent, verve, physicality and stagecraft.
Norton Lodge’s love for Dylan Thomas and Under Milk Wood originated in childhood when her father Paul read verses of it as bedtime stories. The seed for the current production was sown in 2001 when Zoe, then 17, performed a five-minute version of the play on her schoolmate Vanessa Hughes’ bed.
That was the beginning of a collaboration — Hughes is the show’s director and ‘mediamaker’ — that nearly a decade later has delivered a must-see performance."
