"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."
Gareth Beal, ArtsHub, 2/7/2010
"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."
Augusta Supple, augustasupple.com, 4/7/2010
"..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."
John Rozentals, http://www.ozbabyboomers.com.au, 5/7/2010 |
