To celebrate International Dylan Thomas Day on May 14, 92Y's Poetry Center will release a never-before-seen recording of a 2014 performance of Thomas' play, Under Milk Wood, featuring actor Michael Sheen, among others.
The recording will be available on 92Y's website on May 14 at 8 am EST, through June 12.
Dylan Thomas gave his first U.S. reading at 92Y's Poetry Center in 1950; he read there several times over the years. On May 14, 1953, with a cast of actors, Thomas premiered his masterpiece, Under Milk Wood - a brilliant snapshot of life in a Welsh fishing village - before a sold-out Kaufmann Concert Hall.
The 2014 encore performance was broadcast live on BBC Radio Wales, but the footage has never been viewed by the public - until now. Presented as part of the worldwide
Dylan Thomas centennial celebration (in 2014), it featured an all-Welsh cast:
Michael Sheen,
Kate Burton,
Karl Johnson,
Mark Lewis Jones, Francine Morgan and
Matthew Aubrey.
In addition to directing the 2014 performance, Sheen read the part of "First Voice," the play's narrator and a part Thomas himself read in the 1953 premiere. In another nod to the great poet, Sheen wore a bowtie, which was Thomas' signature style.
For Sheen, well-known for his roles in Frost/Nixon, The Queen Masters of Sex and Prodigal Son, among others, it was a unique opportunity. He said in 2014: "It's a real honor and an absolute thrill to be able to perform Under Milk Wood in this very special year and on the stage that it first found its voice," he said. "And the live radio broadcast is an opportunity to celebrate him and his work in both New York-a city that became so important to Dylan-and, at the same time, in Wales, his inspiration and home."
Burton's parents, Sybil Williams and
Richard Burton, participated in the first BBC radio recording of Under Milk Wood in 1954-just two months after Thomas's tragic death in New York.
Richard Burton also starred in the 1972 film adaptation of Under Milk Wood. She said: "It is very meaningful for me to be participating in this event as my parents were in the original recording," said Burton. "I am very proud to be Welsh and to carry on the family tradition."
Now in its sixth year, International
Dylan Thomas Day (also known as "Dylan Day") celebrates Thomas' life and work; it is run by Discover
Dylan Thomas and the late poet's grand-daughter,
Hannah Ellis. Dylan Day features several online events, including a "Love the Words" poetry contest, as well the award ceremony for the
Dylan Thomas Prize, a prestigious literary prize for young writers.
