125th Blog Post - Under Milk Wood

On Sunday night, the Eden Court Community Chest drama group performed Dylan Thomas's play Under Milk Wood, and we did a good job.

The rehearsals was perhaps the hardest rehearsals I have done.  We had a hour added to the Tuesday's classes, and last weekend we were at Eden Court between 10 till 4 both Saturday and Sunday with a full tech and dress rehearsal before the big event.

I was playing:
Mr Pugh - who plots how to murder his wife, but never seems to take that final step (except in his dreams)
PC Attila Rees - who struggles getting out of bed in the morning
Evans the Death - the local undertaker
Nasty Humphrey - a naughty school boy who is the son of Mr Waldo
and some background characters - who just pot about here and there.

In one scene, I had to change from Mr Pugh to Attila Rees and back again.  Thankfully the rehearsals and help from the cast enabled me to go off stage as Mr Pugh, grab the police coat, run backstage, grab the helmet, walk across front of the as Rees, go off stage, take the helmet and coat off, then return to the stage as Mr Pugh.  I'm glad that the scene worked as well as it did.

There were plenty of other colourful characters:
Captain Cat - a blind retired sea captain who dreams of his drowned sailors and
Organ Morgan - a man who cares more for music than around him
Rev Eli Kenkins - who seems to give her services in the form of poems
Polly Garter - a local girl keeps having babies
Mr Waldo - who dreams of the gossip surrounding his character and keeps marrying, and is scared of a paternity summons
Sinbad the Sailor - the local pub owner
Willy Nilly - the postman who seems to know the contains of the post he's delivering before the receiver gets the mail.

The play went very well, and I'm both glad, and sorry, that it's over.  I look forward to the next project.

I hope that you will come, see and enjoy at Eden Court.