THE vibrant 45-year-old Playhouse in the Maleny Showgrounds is buzzing with the success of the recent production ‘A Date With Dylan Thomas’, which marked up unprecedented presales for three sell-out performances.
The production sparked from the leadership of Maleny Players’ president Barbara Thomas, who directed Thomas’s famous play Under Milkwood in an innovative luminous style, jumping with comedy.
Barbara arrived in Maleny three years ago, with extensive experience in community theatre in Goondiwindi and Brisbane. Her management style of inclusivity and collaboration has made such unusual productions possible. “Barbara picked up on my wild idea to delve into the life of Dylan Thomas and allowed me to fly,” said Jill Morris, who added a dramatisation of the debauched life led by the poet and his wife Caitlin, until his death in the USA at the age of 39.
The dual package about the celebrated Welsh poet attracted a host of his fans from the community and 12 talented locals, who shared 40 bizarre comedy characters from Under Milkwood and Dylan Thomas’s 180 BBC broadcasts – his major means of living, apart from sponging outrageously off friends and family.
Barbara Thomas’s bubbling plans for the Maleny Players include inviting celebrated playwright/actor/director/producer Simon Denver to become artistic director; and entrepreneuring two skills workshops in the theatre on directing (Sunday 25 September) and lighting/sound (Saturday 1 October), thanks to a grant from the Sunshine Coast Council. (For workshop enquiries phone Kim Zwalf on 0411 965 663).
Main image: Jill Morris (3rd from left) and Lynne Muir (2nd from right) with audience members during drinks on the deck after their performance.
