EVERY single word is crafted, honed and polished before taking its place in one of these gloriously golden sentences. And then, no doubt, manicured a bit more… Dylan Thomas’s epic journey through the darkened streets of Llareggub took six years to write and it’s not hard to see why.

It’s almost as if the poet knew his time on earth was destined to be short and so he was determined that this epic homage to Welshness would guarantee his place in posterity.

First voice Owen Teale’s delivery has all the smoothness of a mountain stream trickling its way to the sea, the words tumbling away as clear as cut crystal.

Each sentence bursts with imagery. We have ‘Bible black’, ‘houses blind as moles’ and the intriguingly constructed ‘as happy as a Saturday.’ This is the English language exploring new territories… metaphors, allusions and similes are put through the gears into overdrive and beyond.

There are textures within textures, tones within tones. At times it becomes almost experimental, like a 1950s modern jazz saxophone improvisation moving into some unknown orbit.

Christian Patterson’s second voice ably supports Teale’s voyage of discovery as we are guided through the slumbering streets.

Under Terry Hands’ deft and sensitive direction, the two men probe the shadows, illuminating the lives of the inhabitants, played with great versatility by their fellow cast members.

No stone is left unturned, no dark corner escapes the glare of their lamps.

This year marks the centenary of the poet’s birth. Thomas was driven by a destructive art and – perhaps anticipating the excesses of the coming age of rock and roll – drank himself into oblivion at the age of 39.

But thankfully, he bequeathed to us all this great prose poem, arguably one of the greatest literary works of the last century.

Under Milk Wood runs until Saturday (May 17). Not to be missed.