DYLAN Thomas and the Welsh coast go together like whelks in a paper cone, and both appear to be, and indeed are, a rather long way from land-locked Worcestershire.

But the words of the great Welsh poet and writer will surely make a local audience think of the distant sea, during a performance of "Under Milk Wood" at The Swan Theatre, Worcester, on May 6.

This will be a solo performance by Guy Masterson, who happens to be a nephew of the late, great Richard Burton who, in turn was celebrated for his famous recordings of Dylan Thomas classics, including Under Milk Wood, back in 1954.

The fictional town portrayed in Under Milk Wood is believed to have been based on New Quay in Cardiganshire, where the poet lived for a while, during the Second World War, and also on Laugharne, in Carmarthenshire.

The topography suits New Quay better; but both coastal towns lay claim to the inspiration for the many memorable characters in this celebrated "play for voices".

This is perhaps surprising, given that Thomas toyed with calling his play, "The Town That Was Mad", and the fictional town's eventual name, Llareggub, is mildly amusing, when read backwards.

Certainly, as late as the 1970s in New Quay, many locals did not feel able to celebrate the Dylan Thomas connection.

He was often remembered more for his drunkenness and his unpaid bills, as reminiscing newspaper accounts from the time will reveal.

He would push a pram filled with beer bottles all along the coastal path to the flimsy asbestos cottage called Majoda, which he was renting for himself and his growing family.

When, following a heated altercation with a British Army officer in a pub, Thomas found that sub-machine gun bullets were ripping through Majoda's walls, he must have realised it was time to leave, and leave the family did.

It would be pleasant to report that Thomas fled to Worcestershire, but this would not be true.

But Worcester is not entirely without its Dylan Thomas connections.

His daughter, Aeronwy Thomas, who died in 2009, gave a talk at the John Moore Theatre at King's School, Worcester, about her life, her family and in particular her famous father.

The evening, in 2008, included a presentation of private photographs and audio extracts.

The Head of Drama at Kings, Simon Atkins said at the time: "I personally have been a Dylan Thomas fan since I was at primary school as I had a teacher who was passionate about his work."

And many people still are.

There is yet another Worcester connection with the Dylan Thomas legend.

After Dylan Thomas died from a reported "massive insult to the brain" in November 1953, his widow Caitlin felt the need to give her own account of the stormy marriage and in particular its aftermath; and her autobiographical "Leftover Life to Kill" was published by the Trinity Press of Worcester in 1957.

Caitlin had a second go at making her voice heard loud and clear with her book, "My Life with Dylan Thomas; Double Drink Story" which finally appeared in print in 2008, some 14 years after her death.

It appears that she missed Thomas and, despite remarrying and having a new life in Italy, she was to be buried with her first husband, in the graveyard at Laugharne.

Whisky bottles are still sometimes left as slightly disturbing tributes, upon the couple's simple grave; and it is a fact that Dylan Thomas, and indeed Caitlin, are often remembered more for their drinking than their actual achievements in life.

Caitlin, according to her account, seemed to have recognised that drinking was a factor in the strong bond between herself and the poet, and indeed they would try to compete at times.

In later life, Caitlin was reflective and teetotal.

Dylan's last words are often reported as, "I've had eighteen straight whiskies. I think that's the record."

While this is possibly apocryphal, the legend has legs and many choose to believe it.

It creates the powerful image of the poet as a wild man and drinker, a man destined to die before his time, aged just 39.

But there must have been more tranquil moments in his life?

A benefactor, Margaret Taylor, the wife of the famous Oxford don and historian, AJP Taylor, found Dylan and Caitlin the Manor House in South Leigh as a family home, deep in the leafy Cotswolds.

Dylan and Caitlin lived there from 1947 to 1949.

Dylan was supposed to pay a besotted Mrs Taylor rent, although this hardly ever happened.

And the set-up, not surprisingly, became an embarrassment for AJP Taylor, especially when he heard how Thomas had been boasting in Oxfordshire pubs that "he had got the wife of a rich don hooked".

At times, then, it is only possible to view Dylan Thomas as a somewhat disruptive force of nature, despite or perhaps because of his undoubted talent and boyish charm.

Tickets for The Swan Theatre production of Under Milk Wood are available on 01905 611427.