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On Radio

A range of radio programming was produced across the season to mark the centenary of Dylan Thomas' birth. Here's a list of what was broadcast across ±«Óãtv Radio Wales, ±«Óãtv Radio Cymru, ±«Óãtv Radio 3, ±«Óãtv Radio 4 and 6 Music.

Many programmes were broadcast live from or recorded at .

Find out more about the featured in the season.

Saturday Drama - Under Milk Wood

±«Óãtv Radio 4

A special chance to hear the highly-acclaimed 2003 production of this classic 'play for voices'. Richard Burton's unforgettable 1963 performance as First Voice is remixed with Sian Phillips as Second Voice and an all-Welsh cast.

21st-Century Dylan: Short plays from new voices

±«Óãtv Radio Wales

To mark the Dylan Thomas centenary, we present five short plays by new writers.

Archive on 4 - Cerys goes Under Milk Wood

±«Óãtv Radio 4

Cerys Matthews unlocks an archive of rare interviews, made by her uncle Colin Edwards, with Dylan Thomas's closest friends and family. The recordings date from the early 1960s, a decade after the poet's death.

Dylan Day on ±«Óãtv Radio Wales

±«Óãtv Radio Wales

A day of celebration featuring Matthew Rhys reading The Outing and culminating in a live performance of Under Milk Wood in New York on the very stage where it was first performed in May 1953. Michael Sheen leads and directs a cast including Kate Burton and Mark Lewis Jones

Dylan yn Fern Hill

±«Óãtv Radio Cymru

Drama wreiddiol gan T James Jones am blentyndod Dylan Thomas a'r cyfnodau lu a dreuliodd yn ymweld ag Anti Annie ac Wncwl Jac yn Fern Hill, Sir Gaerfyrddin. An original play by T James Jones about Dylan Thomas' childhood and his many visits to see his Auntie Annie and Uncle Jac in Fern Hill.

Cold War Poet

±«Óãtv Radio 4

Within a year of his death, Dylan Thomas exploded into occupied West Germany with his popular radio play Under Milk Wood. By the end of the 80s, his poetry had firmly established his reputation on the other side of the Berlin Wall, in Communist East Germany. In this programme marking the Welsh poet's centenary, former Berlin correspondent Stephen Evans explores how Dylan Thomas became a cultural export for the British during the Cold War.

Dan y Wenallt

±«Óãtv Radio Cymru

Cyd-gynhyrchiad unigryw rhwng Radio Cymru a Pobol y Cwm fydd yn cyflwyno addasiad newydd T.James Jones o Under Milk Wood gan Dylan Thomas. A unique co-production between Radio Cymru and Pobol y Cwm introducing T. James Jones' new adaptation of Under Milk Wood.

Dylan Thomas 100: Efrog Newydd yn Dathlu

±«Óãtv Radio Cymru

Rhaglen fyw o Efrog Newydd gyda Hywel Griffith yn clywed gan Gymry'r ddinas pam fod Dylan Thomas yn golygu cymaint iddyn nhw. Welsh residents of New York talk about Dylan Thomas.

Previously broadcast programmes

A range of radio programming was produced earlier in the year to mark the centenary of Dylan Thomas' birth. Here's a list of what was broadcast across ±«Óãtv Radio Wales, ±«Óãtv Radio Cymru, ±«Óãtv Radio 3, ±«Óãtv Radio 4 and 6 Music.

Most programmes were broadcast live from or recorded at .

±«Óãtv Radio Wales

±«Óãtv Radio Wales Live from Laugharne

During Laugharne Live ±«Óãtv Radio Wales broadcast a number of programmes live from Laugharne Castle, including...

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, ±«Óãtv Radio Wales

Writer and broadcaster Charles Williams went in search of the real Dylan Thomas beneath the popular stereotype.

, ±«Óãtv Radio Wales

Dylan Thomas expert Jeff Towns and panellists Mab Jones, Nadia Kamil and Steffan Rhodri joined chairman Chris CorcoranÌýfor a light-hearted quiz looking into Thomas the man and Thomas the legend. (Recorded at Laugharne Live.)

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±«Óãtv Radio Cymru

, ±«Óãtv Radio Cymru

A hithau'n gan mlynedd ers geni Dylan Thomas, trafodaeth gyda Nia a'i gwesteion mewn rhaglen arbennig o Gastell Talacharn.

Nia and her special guests discuss all things Dylan Thomas.

, ±«Óãtv Radio Cymru

Roedd Talwrn arbennig yn rhan o ddathliadau canmwyddiant geni Dylan Thomas.

A special edition of Talwrn marked the centenary of the birth of Dylan Thomas.

, ±«Óãtv Radio Cymru

Bu Dylan Iorwerth a'i westeion yn trin a thrafod Cymreictod Dylan Thomas.

Dylan Iorwerth and guests discussed the Welshness of Dylan Thomas.

±«Óãtv Radio 3

, ±«Óãtv Radio 3

±«Óãtv Radio 3 dedicated a day of programming to Dylan and every hour from breakfast until late night, listeners heard archive performances, newly-recorded poems and live broadcasts reflecting on Dylan's legacy.

, ±«Óãtv Radio 3

Live from Laugharne Live, Ian McMillan’s guests on The Verb included the writer Glyn Maxwell on updating and relocating Under Milk Wood, the poet Gwyneth Lewis on writing a novella which explores Dylan’s influence, and the musician Gruff Rhys. The one-time frontman for the Super Furry Animals talked about his project American Interior and the experience of composing the soundtrack for a new film about Dylan Thomas.

, ±«Óãtv Radio 3

Sara Mohr-Pietsch brought her ±«Óãtv Radio 3 show, The Choir, to Laugharne for a special live broadcast. Guest performers, WNO Youth Opera, presented a new choral setting of Dylan Thomas’ Fern Hill, composed by Julian Phillips. Sara also heard from local ensemble, The Corran Singers, for a unique live edition of her regular feature, Meet my Choir.

, ±«Óãtv Radio 3

A special edition of Words and Music as part of Radio 3's Dylan Thomas centenary celebrations.

, ±«Óãtv Radio 3

Writer Rachel Trezise, the first winner of the annual Dylan Thomas Prize, told the story of Dylan Thomas' broadcasting life.

, ±«Óãtv Radio 3

World premiere of an unfilmed screenplay by Dylan Thomas, newly adapted for radio for the centenary of his birth.

"Wiltshire arrives on an unnamed Pacific island hoping to trade in copra. But an encounter with rival trader Case leads to a macabre wedding. Shunned by the locals, Wiltshire sets out to uncover the secret behind Case's mysterious hold over the islanders, and the truth in the tales of the singing devils living deep in the bush."

, ±«Óãtv Radio 3

In this special edition of In Tune, ±«Óãtv Radio 3’s well-loved daily drive-time show, presenter Suzy Klein interviewed Dylan Thomas’ granddaughter, Hannah Ellis, enthusiast Jeff Towns and the authors of a re-imagining of Under Milk Wood, Marc Rees and Jon Tregenna. There was also live music from Welsh harpist and singer Sian James and the Penarth Festival Strings.

, ±«Óãtv Radio 3

±«Óãtv National Orchestra of Wales celebrated one of Wales’ greatest poets, with a concert broadcast live from the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff on ±«Óãtv Radio 3’s Dylan Thomas Day. Tecwyn Evans conducted a programme including the world premiere of Mervyn Burtch’s Four Portraits of Dylan Thomas, plus music by eminent Welsh composers Daniel Jones and Alun Hoddinott.

This included a special interval broadcast of ‘Coffee with the Kardomah Boys’. Ian McMillan was joined by guests Peter Stead, Hilly Janes and Richard Ramsbotham to discuss the Kardomah Boys, Dylan Thomas’ bohemian circle of friends that met in Swansea in the 1930s.

The Essay, ±«Óãtv Radio 3

Recorded at Laugharne Live, five leading writers and artists reflected on the ways in which they connect with one of Wales' most famous cultural exports, Dylan Thomas.

  • - John Goodby explores the ways in which Dylan Thomas' poetry and life crossed boundaries.
  • - Andrew Davies reflects on the influence of Dylan Thomas, growing up in Wales in the 1950s.
  • - Gwyneth Lewis takes a personal journey through the language of Dylan Thomas.
  • - Writer and poet Kevin Powell explores Dylan Thomas' influence on black American writers.
  • - Poet and musician Twm Morys explores links between Dylan Thomas and Wales's poetic past.

±«Óãtv Radio 4

, ±«Óãtv Radio 4

In celebration of the centenary of the birth of Dylan Thomas, Radio 4 commissioned three acclaimed writers to write short stories taking their inspiration from Thomas’ greatest work Under Milk Wood. All set in contemporary Britain, from rural Ireland to inner-city London and small-town Wales, the pieces were performed before a live audience at the Laugharne Live Festival.

on ±«Óãtv Radio 4 Extra


Readings by, retrospectives of, and tributes to the famous Welsh poet and author. Highlights included A Visit to America, Quite Early One Morning, Reminiscences of Childhood, Return Journey and Holiday Memory.

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±«Óãtv 6 Music

, ±«Óãtv 6 Music

Broadcast live from the Laugharne Live Festival Stuart Maconie celebratred the stranger, more unusual and avant-garde side of Welsh music and spoken word with live performances and special guests from the Freak Zone family.