0:00:02 > 0:00:04To begin at the beginning...
0:00:04 > 0:00:06Just six weeks ago,
0:00:06 > 0:00:10world-famous performance poet Benjamin Zephaniah
0:00:10 > 0:00:12came to ugly, lovely Swansea
0:00:12 > 0:00:14on a mission improbable.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Do not go gentle.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21His aim? To turn the people back on to their most famous son.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23- Dylan Thomas.- Dylan Thomas?
0:00:23 > 0:00:26I've always thought of him as the Bob Marley of Wales.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31So he's been camped out on one of Swansea's most notorious estates,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35collecting an unlikely team of plasterers, scaffolders and young mums,
0:00:35 > 0:00:39and encouraging them to read Dylan Thomas's poetry.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42If my mates knew I had a day off, I went to the library -
0:00:42 > 0:00:45"Can I have four books on Dylan Thomas, please?" and sat in my van,
0:00:45 > 0:00:49reciting Dylan Thomas... Are you serious? Are you serious?
0:00:49 > 0:00:53Since then, they've used their life stories to write and rehearse
0:00:53 > 0:00:57their own 21st-century version of Under Milk Wood.
0:00:57 > 0:00:58- Nails.- Hair.
0:00:58 > 0:00:59- Boobs.- Tan.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02SHE SINGS COUNTDOWN JINGLE
0:01:02 > 0:01:05But now they are facing their final test,
0:01:05 > 0:01:11getting their work off the page and onto the stage at Swansea's Dylan Thomas Theatre.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13But with time running out until curtain up,
0:01:13 > 0:01:18will it really be all right on the night? Or will frayed nerves...
0:01:18 > 0:01:20I'm nervous as hell.
0:01:20 > 0:01:21I'm nervous as...
0:01:21 > 0:01:22..and tempers...
0:01:22 > 0:01:24It stops today, now. Boom.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26BLEEP
0:01:26 > 0:01:29..get the better of Benjamin and his Poets from the Hill?
0:01:29 > 0:01:35The Poets on the Hill performance of Lovely Ugly.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:01:43 > 0:01:46Do not go gentle into that good night
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54APPLAUSE
0:01:54 > 0:01:58When Benjamin Zephaniah pitched up on Swansea's Townhill estate
0:01:58 > 0:02:01just under six weeks ago, little did he realise
0:02:01 > 0:02:06the extraordinary journey he was about to undertake.
0:02:06 > 0:02:12In his quest to get the community to write and perform their very own modern version of Under Milk Wood,
0:02:12 > 0:02:16Benjamin held open auditions at Townhill's West End Social Club...
0:02:16 > 0:02:19# Swansea, how I love you today... #
0:02:19 > 0:02:23..where he came across a series of warm and wonderful characters.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25- SHE RAPS:- Darling little Billy
0:02:25 > 0:02:28Things get to change when they get an active willy...
0:02:28 > 0:02:29LAUGHTER
0:02:31 > 0:02:34..brimful of talent and charm.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36# But Amy would say... #
0:02:36 > 0:02:38Be nice to your turkeys this Christmas...
0:02:38 > 0:02:41And whilst the majority of them had never attempted to write
0:02:41 > 0:02:46a creative word before, let alone stand on a stage, all of them
0:02:46 > 0:02:49were willing to join him in his improbable dream.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52- We'll give you something to do. - There we are then, top man.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55That's...very beautiful.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01And so for the past six weeks, Benjamin and his team have
0:03:01 > 0:03:04been on a roller coaster ride of intense evenings, weekends
0:03:04 > 0:03:08and weekdays with over 50 members of the Townhill community.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11# Don't worry about a thing... #
0:03:11 > 0:03:14They have been writing,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18refining and rehearsing their once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20We're on our way.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22And it's legal.
0:03:22 > 0:03:23- Boobs.- Tan.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26- Car.- Finance. ALL: Giving it the big one.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29He's hung out with Dolly, the poetic plasterer...
0:03:29 > 0:03:32- I sense that you have it in you. - Really?
0:03:32 > 0:03:34- Really.- Honest to God, bro.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38..Paul, the dyslexic pugilist...
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Don't let dyslexia hold you back.
0:03:40 > 0:03:41I'm a poet.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45I'm a professor of literature, and I'm very dyslexic.
0:03:45 > 0:03:52..and the incomparable 81-year-old waltzing, rapping granny Josephine.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54- This foot. This foot.- You're a great teacher, you know. Amazing.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58But with only two days to go, is the show ready?
0:03:58 > 0:04:03And is the early enthusiasm still there?
0:04:07 > 0:04:12It's Saturday morning, and the day before the performance.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Benjamin has returned to Swansea after a week away in London
0:04:15 > 0:04:20to watch and give notes on the final full rehearsal.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22It'll be the last chance for Benjamin,
0:04:22 > 0:04:26the cast and the team to iron out any final glitches and problems.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Or it would be, if they had a full cast to rehearse with.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Very hard start to the day.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Missing so many people.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36People who were obviously out late last night
0:04:36 > 0:04:38and burning the candle a bit.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41It's now 25 to 11,
0:04:41 > 0:04:45we called everybody at 10, and we still haven't got a full cast.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49In terms of stress levels, from 1 to 10,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51how are you?
0:04:51 > 0:04:5312.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56You know, all in all, it's a bit scary.
0:04:56 > 0:05:03Of course, some of them have very little children, so perhaps there's a hold-up there with little children.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07They don't always follow the timetable, do they?
0:05:07 > 0:05:09But the show must go on,
0:05:09 > 0:05:14and by 11 o'clock, at last there's a full cast.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16Although in time-honoured fashion, the final rehearsal is
0:05:16 > 0:05:19a bit of a mess. There are missed cues, fluffed lines...
0:05:19 > 0:05:22- Come on, let's get it done properly, look.- Guys, your chair.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26..and the odd temperamental outburst.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28It stops today, now. Boom.
0:05:28 > 0:05:29- BLEEP - Charlene,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32you need to build a bridge and get over it, sort yourself out.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36There is a bit of nerves setting in, you know.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Couple of goose bumps going down.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42It's literally around the corner, it's really happening.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Starting to dawn on people now.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46Pretty serious like, we've come this far.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48Let's nail it to the fence and get it done, like.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52It falls to Benjamin to calm the nerves of his cast.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56You've done this in just a few weeks.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00From most of you having no acting experience at all.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04So, if you nail this,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07I know what's going to happen. When this is shown, people will say,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09"Ah, no, they must have had more time."
0:06:09 > 0:06:14Because you have done so well, it's going to seem like it's been faked.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16All you've got to do is just kind of...
0:06:16 > 0:06:19Some of you fluffed a few lines, you've just got to push on through.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Your brain's got to work really quickly to carry on.
0:06:22 > 0:06:28And I am so impressed that I'm a little bit overwhelmed.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30You've really done well.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33You've just got to keep doing what you're doing
0:06:33 > 0:06:38and just remember tomorrow is like, it's your time to really nail it.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47The big day has arrived. The weather might be miserable,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50but the cast are anything but.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53And with just a few hours until curtain up, the Poets
0:06:53 > 0:06:57on the Hill are on time, on the team coach and in very good voice.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02# We're singing Oh, Poets on the Hill... #
0:07:03 > 0:07:06I comes from a place where the grass
0:07:06 > 0:07:08is green, it's the greenest grass you've ever seen.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10I tells no lies and I tells no tales
0:07:10 > 0:07:14because I'm a bad ass plasterer from South Wales.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17- You are disgusting.- Build a bridge and get over it, right.
0:07:17 > 0:07:18Build a bridge and jump off!
0:07:18 > 0:07:22- Behave yourself, right.- She's flying high.- She's definitely flying.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26Everyone's in such fine fettle you'd think they were on a coach trip
0:07:26 > 0:07:29to Torremolinos, not the Dylan Thomas Theatre.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36I was worried about a lot of things,
0:07:36 > 0:07:41but one thing I'm not worried about is the audience - we are sold out.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44As everyone gets their stage slap on,
0:07:44 > 0:07:48Benjamin settles a few last-minute nerves.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Listen, I want to know, how are you feeling?
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Better now that I've got a bit of company.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57I think you dwell on things when you're on your own, don't you, and you get a bit nervous.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Well, I do. Well, of course,
0:07:59 > 0:08:03once you came in, I thought, "I'm made now."
0:08:03 > 0:08:09- See, the people I hang out with... - Class. Class. - Really, really class people.
0:08:09 > 0:08:10I love you.
0:08:11 > 0:08:16So, Charlene, I've heard that you have a relative that you've given
0:08:16 > 0:08:19a very special name to. Or you suggested a name.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Yeah, my sister had a baby a couple of days ago,
0:08:22 > 0:08:27and he didn't have a name, and so I suggested Dylan,
0:08:27 > 0:08:29and she decided to name him Dylan.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32- Wow.- So yes, he is now Dylan.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36Wouldn't it be amazing if he grew up to be a great poet?
0:08:36 > 0:08:39- If he was just like you, then yes. - Just like me?
0:08:39 > 0:08:42I was going to say break a leg, but I won't say that to you,
0:08:42 > 0:08:44because you may actually go and break one.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46- Just be cool.- OK.- All right.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51Finally, it's the moment of truth for Benjamin
0:08:51 > 0:08:53and the Poets on the Hill. After weeks of blood,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57sweat and tears, are they about to break a leg...
0:08:57 > 0:09:01It's full, innit? Are you nervous? I am.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03..or die a death?
0:09:03 > 0:09:05To be honest with you, I'm nervous as hell.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07It's worse than going into a boxing ring and fighting.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09I know it sounds stupid, but it's weird.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Thank you and welcome and thanks for coming out.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21This is very special tonight.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26Many years ago, I was hanging out in Wales with a friend of mine,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29who introduced me to a poem by Dylan Thomas.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Do Not Go Gentle.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Later, I went on to listen to the play Under Milk Wood,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38which I thought was a work of genius.
0:09:38 > 0:09:46Moving on, much later, I ended up in a place called Townhill.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49Anybody here from Townhill?
0:09:49 > 0:09:50THEY CHEER
0:09:50 > 0:09:52- WOMAN:- Hell of a place!
0:09:52 > 0:09:55Hell of a place, I know.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58And I kind of set a challenge...
0:09:58 > 0:10:03to produce a modern day version of Under Milk Wood.
0:10:03 > 0:10:09That was told about modern-day people in their own words.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14I want you to give a big Welsh welcome
0:10:14 > 0:10:22to the Poets on the Hill production of Lovely Ugly.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24CHEERING
0:10:26 > 0:10:30Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32To begin at the beginning.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36We begin near the beginning.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38- It is a thick.- And misty night.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42- In the city town.- Townhill heads. - Proper jacks.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45All stumbling onto cold milk path.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47Past damp and orphaned sofa.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50- Stand the beaujacks. Beau. Jacks.- Shmo Jacks.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53From hill to muddy grey sea.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58Look, a river of lipstick. Ych-y-fi!
0:10:58 > 0:10:59The hen girls.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03- With empties. - The upside down scratchcards.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05- Chippies! - And bookies.- Workers.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08- And shirkers. - The still dazed smirkers.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10- The liberty takers.- Pot holed. - Night shifter.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14- Van Man.- Policeman. - Stray dogs with their stories.
0:11:14 > 0:11:15On unreadable roads.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17You can hear the cars pumping.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19The town's heart beating.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Time passes.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23Listen. Time passes.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Every scene in Lovely Ugly has been inspired by a scene
0:11:28 > 0:11:30from Under Milk Wood.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33The Townhill prologue reflected the opening descriptions
0:11:33 > 0:11:35of Dylan's fictional Llareggub.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37Where's the gin?
0:11:37 > 0:11:40And now Townhill's gossip girls are about to tear down the house
0:11:40 > 0:11:45with their take on Under Milk Wood's chin-wagging neighbours.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48In every town there are those who watch and talk.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Julia, Townhill's answer to Carol Vorderman, mush.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55THEY IMITATE THEME FROM COUNTDOWN
0:11:55 > 0:11:56Beauty, brains and wit,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59with the laugh of a brickie's labourer.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02Talking of which, Minging Merna.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04Ych-a-fi.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07In the shop, smelling of dead cats.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09- Stinking.- She stole my mother's jeans once, off her line.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11Who does that?
0:12:11 > 0:12:13Well, Merna does. I saw her wearing them!
0:12:13 > 0:12:14Two sizes too small.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17Like a fish stuck in a plughole.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20- Like a sausage too big for the skin. - She needs a bit of Febreeze.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23A good scrub more like, her house is practically walking.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26- Dirty house. - Can you imagine combing that hair?
0:12:26 > 0:12:29- I saw la-di-da Jenny talking to her the other day.- Bloody do-gooder.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Now, don't get me started! Faker than a Chanel bag from Turkey.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Fake everything.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37- Nails.- Hair.- Boobs.- Tan.- Car. - Finance.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Giving it the big one!
0:12:40 > 0:12:42And the feet squeezing out of those shoes of hers.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44I know, she's got massive feet. Size eight!
0:12:44 > 0:12:46She wants to cut her toenails, she'd be a size six.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51Next up, the children and headmaster
0:12:51 > 0:12:54of Townhill's Dylan Thomas Community School.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57BELL RINGS, CHILDREN CHATTER
0:12:57 > 0:13:01With a scene inspired by the Reverend Eli Jenkins' Dear Gwalia.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05And what is the name of our school?
0:13:05 > 0:13:08Dylan Thomas Community School.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11And who is Dylan Thomas?
0:13:11 > 0:13:16- Sir, an alkie, sir? - Sir, sir, is it a pub in Llansamlet?
0:13:16 > 0:13:18That wasn't the answer that I was looking for.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20This is your old school.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24Yeah, the children are brilliant, and the headmaster is spot on.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27We know you are not angels all.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31Straightforward, sharp, demanding.
0:13:31 > 0:13:37It's true that life is trying tough, placing burdens down upon us.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42But let me say, I would never change.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45- This school...- Our Dylan Thomas.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47# Window shopping
0:13:47 > 0:13:49# Late night blogging, prom dance snogging
0:13:52 > 0:13:57# Here's to hoping what the future's holding and never knowing... #
0:13:57 > 0:14:02In the wings, awaiting their cue, are a very nervous Paul and Dolly.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04Relax, deep breath.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06My guts are in bits, but.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08They are, terrible.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11- Says it all.- Survivors...
0:14:11 > 0:14:13Arguably the two most unlikely recruits
0:14:13 > 0:14:15to Benjamin's mission improbable,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18both scaffolder Paul and plasterer Dolly
0:14:18 > 0:14:21were thrown out of school with no qualifications,
0:14:21 > 0:14:25and until they met Benjamin they thought poetry was for ponces.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29But these reformed Townhill bad boys have been a revelation,
0:14:29 > 0:14:31as well as an inspiration.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34Perhaps unsurprisingly,
0:14:34 > 0:14:38their true-life scenes are an homage to Under Milk Wood's Nogood Boyo.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Oy oy saveloy. Here he is, mush. Dolly.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47And you can always hear him before you see him.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Here's his main mucker now, mush, Beef.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54When side by side, these two, they're like salt and pepper pots.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57Light the blue touch paper, and stand well back.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59Finished work, Beef?
0:14:59 > 0:15:02- Yeah, I've finished work, Doll, you finished work?- I've finished work.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04- Knackered?- Knackered.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06- Knackered. - You've having a laugh.- What?
0:15:06 > 0:15:07Knackered, that's not work.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11Listen to him now, down the mumbles, in the front room.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13With his shorts, his sandles on. Gut out.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Shocking, mate!
0:15:15 > 0:15:18Yeah, Beef. This tank don't fuel itself, kid.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21That's not real work, though, is it?
0:15:21 > 0:15:24Beef, I'm staring at a wall all day, mate, that's my life, mate.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26I turns that wall into a work of art.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29You stand on a road with your stop-and-start sign, mate, your road cones...
0:15:29 > 0:15:32- My what?- Your stop-and-start sign. Playing God.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34"Go on, yeah, yeah. Stop!"
0:15:34 > 0:15:37- Hang on. - "Oh, let her through, she's smart."
0:15:38 > 0:15:41That was years ago, I'm on the scaffolding now.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45Sorry, Beef, I forgot you was back on the spanners. Respect.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49Having got through the first of their two scenes, now Paul and Dolly
0:15:49 > 0:15:53just need to nail some not-so- innocent reminiscences of childhood.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05Thing is, see, Doll, never been good with my hands, have I?
0:16:05 > 0:16:07Don't put yourself down, good boy.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09No, never much cop at making stuff.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Behave, will you? Remember when we used to go penny-for-the-guying.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14Your guy was always mint, mate, best in Swansea, Beef.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17- I didn't make it, mind. - What d'you mean, Beef?
0:16:17 > 0:16:19- I didn't make that guy, Doll. - Didn't you, no?
0:16:19 > 0:16:22No, mine was crap. I nicked that one from the uplands boys.
0:16:22 > 0:16:23What?
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Serious. I was pushing mine down the hill,
0:16:26 > 0:16:28by the park, and I saw those boys with their guy.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30It was proper posh.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Dressed in labels and everything.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37D&G jeans, Bench T-shirt, thought to myself, "I'm having a bit of that."
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Good effort, Beef, very enterprising.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42It's not like I made it myself, though, is it?
0:16:42 > 0:16:44You were a bit of a geek, though, weren't you?
0:16:44 > 0:16:46What you saying, Beef? Don't judge me.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48No, you were good with your hands.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Like that time you built the bus, remember?
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Oh, yeah, happy days, mate. Beauty. Took me weeks to build that.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57I was in the Evening Post and everything, won a prize for it, didn't I?
0:16:57 > 0:16:59- Where is it now? - Oh, it's long gone now, Beef.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Me and Jap tied a Black Cat banger to it one night
0:17:02 > 0:17:04in my old girl's living room. Boom!
0:17:04 > 0:17:08- Like something out of Top Gear it was, Lego everywhere.- Never.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Absolutely, Beef, terrible truth. Right geek.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12Scorched my Lego as well, mush.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27Oh, mate, palpitations, man. My heart's beating like a lab rabbit.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31Little bit disappointed with myself, hope I didn't let anyone down.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35Don't run now, cos if I lose you I'll get in trouble!
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Overwhelmed, really powerful stuff, like.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41I've used that one and that one to darken...
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Julia and her daughter Steph are performing a piece they've written
0:17:44 > 0:17:49about three generations of their family growing up on Townhill.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52And central to the scene is Swansea City Football Club.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55Julia is a fanatical fan.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59- I've heard...- Yeah?- I don't know how true this is, that you,
0:17:59 > 0:18:04- shock horror, are missing a Swansea game today.- I am.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06I am suffering for my art, mate.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10This is absolutely unheard of.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13Julia is also obsessive about former Swansea player Lee Trundle,
0:18:13 > 0:18:16and has written a true story about him for the show.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21But what she hadn't counted on was the great man himself
0:18:21 > 0:18:25accepting her invitation to come and see the play.
0:18:25 > 0:18:26Trundle's in the house.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30Another layer of lipstick, bigger trowel this time.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32What could possibly go wrong?
0:18:32 > 0:18:34We've got to go.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37- Sorry.- Sorry. Actresses!
0:18:39 > 0:18:42So, you know, I went to a supermarket,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45I was doing a bit of shopping,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Swansea city centre circa 2003.
0:18:48 > 0:18:53I was reaching for the camomile tea bags and I spotted him.
0:18:53 > 0:18:58- Lee Trundle, magic daps. - SHE CHANTS:- Lee, Lee, Lee, Trundle!
0:19:01 > 0:19:02And?
0:19:03 > 0:19:06And I...followed him for a bit, that's all.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10Yeah, but for how long, Mum?
0:19:10 > 0:19:11Four years.
0:19:13 > 0:19:14And the toilet?
0:19:14 > 0:19:16We don't have to mention the Trundle suite.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22The smallest room in our house, dedicated to Lee Trundle.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26Posters, photos adorned the metre-square walls.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31Every time you needed some privacy, you were joined by Lee Trundle.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34Full Swans kit, grinning at you.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36That was the nail in the football coffin for me.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40And to complete the family portrait, the youngest cast member,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43five-year-old son and grandson Danylo,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45has also written his own poem.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49The pictures of different worlds and different people
0:19:49 > 0:19:51and the lines and the shapes
0:19:51 > 0:19:56and what the words mean splashed over the pages for Mummy and me.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01I'll open the cover and start saying words
0:20:01 > 0:20:04I'm showing them pictures of different worlds
0:20:04 > 0:20:05And different people
0:20:05 > 0:20:06And lines and shapes
0:20:06 > 0:20:11And what the words mean splashed over the pages for Mummy and me.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Half-time and the ideal moment for a meeting of minds...
0:20:19 > 0:20:23superstar poet and superstar player.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25Brilliant. I really enjoyed the show.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Especially to put it together in six weeks as well
0:20:28 > 0:20:29and they're non-actors.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31It's not like they had the script
0:20:31 > 0:20:33and they had six weeks to learn the script.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37- They had to write the script.- Yeah. - In theatre terms, that's amazing.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40How many times have you been mentioned in a play?
0:20:40 > 0:20:44I think, well, I've been mentioned in a panto.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47- That's not a proper play, is it? - It's not like that.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50- I really enjoyed it. Nice surprise. - Yeah, yeah.- I thought it was good.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53And it's all true. There was actually a Trundle suite.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55- Was there?- Yeah, there was.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58And I had some photographs of you up there.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01I found them the other day and one of them,
0:21:01 > 0:21:04I cut out a little quote by you from the Evening Post which said,
0:21:04 > 0:21:07and I'll do the accent, "I don't eat burgers any more."
0:21:07 > 0:21:09- Do you remember that?- Yeah.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Yeah, so there were bits like that in there, all around the place.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Yeah, it's ruined my daughter's love of football. But there we are.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19- What can we do?- At least you had a good time.- I had a good time. I had a good time.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22Roger Baker.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24Twice divorced.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27On with the second half, and Under Milk Wood enters the digital age
0:21:27 > 0:21:30with a contemporary take on the love-letter scene
0:21:30 > 0:21:33between Mog Edwards and Myfanwy Price.
0:21:33 > 0:21:34In the Townhill version,
0:21:34 > 0:21:39newsagent Roger is online dating master baker Francis.
0:21:39 > 0:21:40He types.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Miss Francis Broadsheet,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46I am your sweet paper man.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50How can I express myself?
0:21:50 > 0:21:55You are my sun and Llanelli star
0:21:55 > 0:21:59and I your Observer and Guardian.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03Can I be your Western Mail?
0:22:03 > 0:22:05LAUGHTER
0:22:07 > 0:22:09Mr Roger Baker.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11I will temper your chocolate
0:22:11 > 0:22:14and whip your meringue
0:22:14 > 0:22:17into stiff peaks.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22I will knead you like you have never been kneaded before.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26I will prick and plait your teisen lap.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30I will bake you blind.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32I will glaze you in egg wash.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35I will dust you in sugar.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38- Francis!- Franny!
0:22:38 > 0:22:44Before my hot-off-the-press wraps tonight's rissole and chips...
0:22:44 > 0:22:48Before the buns in my range are dry and crusty.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50Will you say...?
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Roger!
0:22:52 > 0:22:53Roger!
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Yes, Fanny!
0:22:57 > 0:23:00TOGETHER: And all the popty pings of the town
0:23:00 > 0:23:03shall ring with the sound of our feasting.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11CHEERING
0:23:17 > 0:23:21Fittingly, the finale to Lovely Ugly belongs to 81-year-old
0:23:21 > 0:23:23rapping granny Josephine
0:23:23 > 0:23:27who everybody fell in love with, not least Benjamin.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30Inspired by Under Milk Wood's most poignant passage,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Captain Cat's lament for his lost loves...
0:23:33 > 0:23:36Oh, my dead dears.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40..Josephine's scene movingly brings back into the light
0:23:40 > 0:23:44the lost loves of her dancing days at Townhill's Tower Ballroom
0:23:44 > 0:23:46some 60 years ago.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51The tower was a special place
0:23:51 > 0:23:55with dancing and romancing.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59You walked through the doors into the ballroom,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03the band would play and you would wait for somebody
0:24:03 > 0:24:07- to ask you to dance. - Were the boys all proper gentlemen?
0:24:07 > 0:24:10They were proper gentleman
0:24:10 > 0:24:13and they looked so smart in their best suits,
0:24:13 > 0:24:15just like film stars.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20We are all film stars in the Tower
0:24:20 > 0:24:22and at the end of the night
0:24:22 > 0:24:25when you were waiting for that last waltz
0:24:25 > 0:24:28and the band would play
0:24:28 > 0:24:31"Who's Taking You Home Tonight?"
0:24:31 > 0:24:36your eye would always be on that one particular film star.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38Remember me, Josie?
0:24:38 > 0:24:41You're Dancing Williams.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43We danced the quickstep in October.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48John Jones, Charleston man.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50I walked you home once.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56Hold me, Josie. I'm Billy Busher.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59I waited and waited for that last waltz.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02I'm still waiting.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06Oh, my dead dears.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12Every time my gaze falls down.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15From Pant y Celyn o'er top this town.
0:25:15 > 0:25:16The spot-like Velcro catches me.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19I know I'll never want to flee.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21A vista etched of docks and masts.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26The curve of the Mumbles' ghost train path.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28The waves brush fresh.
0:25:28 > 0:25:29Clean hope each day.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Up to the sweep our box house plays.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35A hill, Cwmdoncyn, a poet's ardour.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Rails, the steps, a blackberry picker's larder.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42Past painted walls all signed Jack Army!
0:25:42 > 0:25:44And romance pronounced "Gary still loves Siany".
0:25:44 > 0:25:48To the beach, the sweep up from horizon far.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50- The pebble-dash streets... - ..and melting tar.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Dense who meets the sand which glitches.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Gulls like burns on cellulite fixtures.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58A swelling of salt air, breathing elixir.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01I stand, I melt into my own life's picture.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04This hill where Paradise Park was placed.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07We are side by side and face to face.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11So think of us just beneath the clouds.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14Living the day as God allows.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17We finish these songs and make this vowel,
0:26:17 > 0:26:21these poets now stop, but just for now.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:26:40 > 0:26:42Well done, everybody.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45In just six weeks, people who knew little of Dylan Thomas
0:26:45 > 0:26:50have been inspired to write and perform their own work.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54Friendships have been made, experiences shared.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58And the man who started it all is justifiably proud.
0:26:58 > 0:26:59Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02I felt like I had so much invested in it, you know?
0:27:02 > 0:27:05It was like my kids on stage or something.
0:27:05 > 0:27:06Cheers.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08I really think Dylan Thomas would have been proud.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12These are the people Dylan Thomas was talking about.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15What I don't want to do is just come here, make a TV programme
0:27:15 > 0:27:19and disappear, I also want to leave a legacy,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22so if the legacy is that people have come together,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25people are getting creative, people have learnt
0:27:25 > 0:27:28creative, interesting ways of expressing themselves,
0:27:28 > 0:27:30well, we've done something positive.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32Cheers!
0:27:32 > 0:27:34These are - I don't want to sound cliched -
0:27:34 > 0:27:38but every day, working-class people who are struggling to survive,
0:27:38 > 0:27:40and while they are struggling to survive,
0:27:40 > 0:27:43they put on such a production, you know, I'm proud of them
0:27:43 > 0:27:47and I just kind of feel like they're my children almost.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49And I've got to let them go now.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51# The bus stops the crowd scene
0:27:51 > 0:27:53# The twelve and the thirteen... #
0:27:53 > 0:27:57But if Benjamin is leaving this ugly, lovely town,
0:27:57 > 0:28:01his and Dylan Thomas's inspiration certainly isn't.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05The poets on the hill have started regular writing workshops,
0:28:05 > 0:28:08and are already planning another performance.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11They began at the beginning,
0:28:11 > 0:28:12but this is not the end.
0:28:12 > 0:28:18# On the land that meets the sky
0:28:19 > 0:28:25# On the hill that meets the sky. #
0:28:26 > 0:28:30APPLAUSE AND CHEERING