First look: In rehearsals for Under Milk Wood

Rehearsals for the newest staging of Dylan Thomas’ iconic drama, Under Milk Wood, are entering their final week in Flintshire.

Theatr Clwyd’s 2026 production of Under Milk Wood follows the dreams, secrets and scandals of the residents in the seaside town of Llareggub.

Director Kate Wasserberg said: “Under Milk Wood is a play that lots of people have found difficult to understand so we really wanted to create a production that was very visual as well showcasing Dylan Thomas’ beautiful poetry…

“This is is me making my production of Under Milk Wood and it’s primarily led by my discovery of Dylan Thomas’ filthy mind, how he wrote this really no-holds-bars, warts and all portrait of a community.

“It’s going to be a really fun, special show.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Theatr Clwyd (@theatrclwyd)

Aiming to put a fresh spin on previous stagings, Theatr Clwyd is reimagining Under Milk Wood for modern theatre audiences, with a funny, moving and accessible production.

Based in Flintshire, the organisation is Wales’ biggest producing theatre and is led by Executive Director Liam Evans-Ford and Artistic Director Kate Wasserberg.

All props, sets and costumes for the production will be made in-house at Theatr Clwyd, one of only four theatres in the UK to build its shows from scratch in this way.

Under Milk Wood will also use integrated BSL and captioning, with BSL signing, audio description (without requiring headsets) and captioning built into the design of the show.

Kate continued: “Under Milk Wood was chosen very deliberately as the ultimate Welsh title. Being Welsh is an incredibly important part of our identity , and anyone who is from or grew up in Wales knows Under Milk Wood, and it’s an enormously important part of who we are.

“Alongside the Integrated Access, I’m excited to rediscover that text for a new generation and say, this is modern, this is fun, this is sexy, this is for you. It’s not some old dusty text that has nothing to do with your lives. This can speak to life in modern Wales now.”

The 11-strong cast includes actors from around Wales and the UK who have previously featured in National Theatre, Grand Ambition, S4C, BBC, and Channel 4 productions.

Cast member and BSL user Adam Basset added: “I want the audience to feel like they can relate to the characters on stage, to understand something about themselves, their Welsh roots and their heritage. I think that will be magical.

“But also to see all this incredible art, all these amazing things in the show that are going to be absolutely compelling.”

Under Milk Wood will play at Moondance Theatre from Monday 16 March until Saturday 4 April, with more information and tickets available on Theatr Clwyd’s site here.