Writing
Dylan Thomas
Born 1914-10-27 · Swansea, Glamorgan, Wales, UK
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion"; the 'play for voices' Under Milk Wood; and stories and radio broadcasts such as "A Child's Christmas in Wales" and "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog". He became widely popular in his lifetime and remained so after his premature death at the age of 39 in New York City. By then he had acquired a reputation, which he had encouraged, as a "roistering, drunken and doomed poet". Thomas was born at the family home in Cwmdonkin Drive in the Uplands district of Swansea, Glamorgan, Wales, in 1914. An undistinguished pupil, he left school at 16 and became a journalist for a short time. Many of his works appeared in print while he was still a teenager; however, it was the publication in 1934 of "Light breaks where no sun shines" that caught the attention of the literary world. While living in London, Thomas met Caitlin Macnamara, whom he married in 1937. Their relationship was defined by alcoholism and was mutually destructive. In the early part of their marriage, Thomas and his family lived hand-to-mouth; they settled in the Welsh fishing village of Laugharne/Talacharn in Carmarthenshire. Thomas came to be appreciated as a popular poet during his lifetime, though he found earning a living as a writer difficult. He began augmenting his income with reading tours and radio broadcasts. His radio recordings for the BBC during the late 1940s brought him to the public's attention, and he was frequently used by the BBC as a populist voice of the literary scene. Thomas first travelled to the United States in the 1950s. His readings there brought him a level of fame, while his erratic behaviour and drinking worsened. His time in America cemented his legend, however, and he went on to record to vinyl such works as "A Child's Christmas in Wales". During his fourth trip to New York in 1953, after a night at the White Horse Inn, Greenwich Village, Thomas became gravely ill and fell into a coma, from which he never recovered. He died on 9 November 1953 at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village. His body was returned to Wales where he was interred at the village churchyard in Laugharne on 25 November 1953. The grace is marked by a simple white wooden cross. Though Thomas wrote exclusively in the English language, he has been acknowledged as one of the most important Welsh poets of the 20th century. He is noted for his original, rhythmic and ingenious use of words and imagery. His position as one of the great modern poets has been much discussed, and he remains popular with the public.
Acting credits
Behind the camera
6.2An all star cast unite to perform a distinctive BBC Wales Television adaptation of Dylan Thomas's radio play, presented in collaboration with National Theatre Wales, to mark the centenary of Dylan Thomas' birth. The plot reveals the innermost thoughts of the residents of the small, Welsh fishing village Llareggub as it delves into the dreams of various townspeople including blind sailor Captain Cat, who is haunted by visions of drowned shipmates, Mog Edwards and Myfanwy Price, who dream of each other, and Mrs. Ogmore Pritchard, who dreams of her former husbands.
Under Milk Wood
2014
6.1The delightful if peculiar story of a day in the life of a small, Welsh fishing village called "Llareggub" in which we meet a host of curious characters (and ghosts) through the 'eyes' of Blind Captain Cat.
Under Milk Wood
1972
NRA documentary about the precursor to the Arts Council, the wartime Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA), featuring an introduction by education minister R A Butler, an art exhibition in a factory and live music and theatre performances in various English locations.
CEMA
1942
8.5A group of children are evacuated during world war two into the care of an alcoholic woman.
No Room at the Inn
1948
6.5Young aristocrat Anthony Raine returns home from India to find the farmers of Pembrokeshire protesting about the rates of a tollgate run by The Whitman Turnpike Trust, headed by the drunken Lord Sarn. So Raine dons a mask and, calling himself Rebecca, instructs his followers to dress as women as they attack the tolls, leading the common people to victory over their masters.
Rebecca's Daughters
1992
NRDylan Thomas is perceived as one of the greatest poets working in the English language in the 20th century. He lived in London, and spent time in America, but chose his home in West Wales, in the village of Laugharne. This video trails all his most regular haunts, including his aunt's farm Fern Hill, and the village of Laugharne.
The Dylan Thomas Trail
1983
NRA community is sleeping. If you listen closely, you can hear their dreams. The retired sea captain yearning for his lost love. The landlady living in terror of her guests. A father who can no longer access his memories. A son in search of redemption. As they awake to boiled eggs and the postman, the residents of a small Welsh village juggle old secrets and new realities.
National Theatre Live: Under Milk Wood
2021
NRSheffield stands in as 'Smokedale', an industrial Everytown, in this stirring call for "new schools, new hospitals, new roads, new life", after WWII.
New Towns for Old
1942
A romantic tour of Britain set to Dylan Thomas's poetry.
Our Country
1944
NRCoventry prepares to rise from the ashes of WWII in this docu-drama written by Dylan Thomas.
A City Reborn
1945
An impressionistic survey, scripted by Dylan Thomas, of Wales at war. Continuity is provided by film of the Welsh countryside, which underlines the imagery of 'mountains' in which the whole film is couched: the balance of the film, which exists principally to illustrate the soundtrack, shows the castles left by the old war (against England), as an introduction to the new war - steelworkers - dockers - pithead scenes from the Rhondda mines - agriculture - sheep farming - agricultural research at Aberystwyth - quarrying - Welsh chapels - children - women (sewing, and at the whist drive) - Druids. Film concludes with a reminder of recent Welsh history - the social and economic changes that industry brought to the valleys, and the hardships of the depression, from which only the arrival of new industry with the war brought relief - "Remember the march of the old young men/It shall not happen again."
Wales: Green Mountain, Black Mountain
1942
A soldier returns home from the Far Eastern theatre of conflict, but discovers that life back home isn't quite what he expected.
A Soldier Comes Home
1945
7.5Three older sisters live on their family estate in Wales. This household once proudly reigned over a mining town, but the mines dried up and the estate and the town have fallen on hard times. When the land crumbles and a number of homes in the town are destroyed the sisters promise to rebuild the homes.
The Three Weird Sisters
1948
Eight of the finest wartime works by the world-renowned poet Dylan Thomas who made a little-known but valuable contribution to Britain’s war effort scripting powerful propaganda films for the Ministry of Information. This anthology collects together eight of his finest wartime works: "THESE ARE THE MEN" (1943) - a blistering attack on the Nazis: "BALLOON SITE 568" (1942) - the women who worked as barrage balloon operators "WALES, GREEN MOUNTAIN, BLACK MOUNTAIN" (1942) - a tribute to Wales at war; "NEW TOWNS FOR OLD" (1942) - urban regeneration in the fictional town of Smokesdale; "THE BATTLE FOR FREEDOM" (1942) - the contribution made by the Empire towards the British war effort; "CEMA" (1942) - the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts; "A CITY REBORN" (1945) - a salute to the city Coventry; "A SOLDIER COMES HOME" (1945) - a soldier on leave with his family in London.
Dylan Thomas - A War Films Anthology
2007
NRThe social democrats of the sixties and seventies worked on their grand plan to build a highway network in Germany that every German citizen could reach within five minutes of their home. The little film hangs around between and on the streets of this network - where the country discos, pedestrian zones, shopping centers, hospitals and roads home are behind noise barriers.
Broads
1989
5.9Two versions of Dylan Thomas' classic play "Under Milk Wood" were shot, with the same cast, one in Welsh, "Dan y Wenallt", and one in English. Directed by Kevin Allen, narrated by and starring Rhys Ifans, the films were shot largely in the Pembrokeshire village of Solfa during the summer of 2014. This surreal and erotic interpretation of Dylan Thomas' work is the first theatrical production of the brilliant, haunting radio play since Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton's 1972 film. Certain to astonish and excite in equal measures, this production reunites director Kevin Allen with actor Rhys Ifans over 15 years after the release of their cult classic "Twin Town". An ensemble Welsh speaking cast of familiar faces is led by Ifans as First Voice and Captain Cat, with Charlotte Church as Polly Garter.
Under Milk Wood
2015
8.0Anti nazi short.
These Are the Men
1943
8.0Anti nazi short.
These Are the Men
1943
7.0A short documentary to demonstrate what can be done with Technicolor film and to show various other colourful products.
This Is Colour
1942