Have you ever wanted to respond to a play with your own words, images, or ideas? The Torch Theatre, Milford Haven and VC Gallery, Haverfordwest are opening their doors and inviting you in as they present Verse & Visuals inspired by Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood, that runs alongside the touring of Theatr Clwyd’s production of Under Milk Wood coming to the Torch Theatre this April.

The Torch Theatre and VC Gallery are inviting artists, poets, writers, and anyone curious about creativity to join in. Submissions of visual art, poetry, writing, photography, illustration, mixed media, and other creative responses are welcomed. People might be drawn to Captain Cat’s Dreams, the 1972 film locations in Lower Town, Fishguard, or some might take a more personal response inspired by the work of Dylan Thomas, 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 of your own from it.

Selected work 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 of it 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 Mondays and Wednesdays up until the submission date of 11 March. People don’t need to have attended a workshop to submit their work, both routes are completely welcome.

This exhibition also marks a growing creative relationship between VC Gallery and the Torch Theatre - a 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."

Deadline for art submissions is Wednesday 11 March. Please follow the link below.

bit.ly/4r3GyC7 

Under Milk Wood a Theatr Clwyd / Craidd production can be seen on the Torch Theatre stage from Thursday 16 April to Saturday 25 April. Ticket prices from £15. For further information visit the Torch Theatre website www.torchtheatre.co.uk / phone the Box Office on (01646) 695267 or click here.

Image: Dylan Maddocks.