Welsh writer Dylan Thomas is finally getting the credit he deserves according to the actor who plays all 69 of his characters in Under Milk Wood.

Guy Masterson first thought up the one-man production of the story, which is in the top 10 of the most performed plays of all time, 15 years ago and has continued touring it most years in between other projects.

But Thomas, who died in 1953 aged just 39, has never had the adulation he deserves in Masterson’s eyes, until now.

“He is a genius,” said Masterson.

“The fact he was a drunkard and died at 39 years old meant people have underrated him but now 50 years on after his death he is being regarded as one of the great writers.

“Under Milk Wood has been translated into 120 different languages and there’s always a few productions of it going on around the world so it is being regarded as one of the greatest.

“I am privileged to do it as a solo performance and be the only person in the world to do that.”

Masterson, who currently has two plays running at the Greenwich Theatre and five at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, admitted that the success he had had with Under Milk Wood did surprise him to some extent.

“It started off as a physical experiment and I am completely surprised that the experiment worked,” he said.

“But I think it is successful because the audience are getting a classic normally played with six or seven people on stage, not one and it also means I am able to offer it to theatres for a fraction of the price as it is just me.”

All 69 characters in the play are played by Masterson and while he lets his imagination run wild with them, he never changes the words.

“I don’t change it at all,” he said.

“Dylan Thomas is a brilliant writer first and foremost and when you are dealing with a genius like him you don’t have to do anything to the writing.

“My pet hate is when a director decides to impose a vision on a play and I have seen that done to it a few times.

“I like it when all the director does is allow the characters to move in a way that the words make them.”

Under Milk Wood, Croydon Clocktower, Katharine Street, January 29, 7.30pm, £7.50. Call 020 8253 1030 or visit croydonclocktower.org.uk.