Have you ever wanted to respond to a play with your own words, images, or ideas?

If your answer is yes, then The Torch Theatre, Milford Haven and the VC Gallery, Haverfordwest are opening their doors to present ‘Verse and Visuals’ inspired by Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood, that runs alongside the touring of Theatr Clwyd’s production of the iconic play which is coming to the Torch in April.

The Torch Theatre and VC Gallery are inviting artists, poets, writers, and anyone curious about creativity to join in by submitting visual art, poetry, writing, photography, illustration, mixed media, and other creative responses. People might be drawn to Captain Cat’s Dreams, the 1972 film locations in Lower Town, Fishguard, while some might take a more personal response inspired by the work of Dylan Thomas who is one of the most influential poets of the 20th century.

The exhibition will offer different ways to experience the play, not just by watching it, but by sitting with it, responding to it, and drawing something personal from it.

Selected works will be shown either at the Joanna Field Gallery, at the Torch Theatre or at the VC Gallery on Haverfordwest High Street, taking the exhibition beyond the theatre building and into the town centre, where more people can encounter it as part of everyday life.

Chelsey Gillard, Torch Theatre’s Interim CEO and Artistic Director said:

“We are so excited to be collaborating with the brilliant VC Gallery to explore the same story through multiple art forms. Under Milk Wood is a Welsh icon and this production will be imaginative, hilarious and more than a little bit naughty! 

“At its heart it’s a story about community, so this project is an extension of that, welcoming you to be part of this creative community.”

Since January, open workshops have been running at VC Gallery, exploring Under Milk Wood through art and poetry.  Led by Barry John, MBE, Jayne Blythe-Mason and Angharad Tudor, the sessions are relaxed, friendly, and open to everyone. They are held at the VC Gallery, High Street, Haverfordwest between 11 and 4 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays up until the submission date of March 11.

The exhibition also marks a growing creative relationship between VC Gallery and the Torch Theatre, with their shared curiosity about how visual art and theatre can meet, overlap, and grow together over time.

Barry John, MBE, from the VC Gallery added: “Theatre is such a rich starting point for visual art. It’s full of voices, images, rhythm and emotion, and it gives you something to respond to rather than something to copy. Translating that into visual work with the support of the Torch Theatre has been incredibly inspiring.”

The deadline for art submissions is Wednesday, March 11. 

Theatr Clwyd’s ‘Under Milk Wood’ production can be seen on the Torch

Theatre stage from Thursday April 16 to Saturday April 25. Ticket prices are from £15.

For further information visit the Torch Theatre website www.torchtheatre.co.uk or phone the Box Office on (01646) 695267.