The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie
By Tennessee Williams. La Boite at The Roundhouse. 3 – 31 August 2013.

Beware! You won’t forget this theatre experience. It engages you, then breaks your heart.

Director David Berthold decided to take a slightly different approach to his production: he brought the action forward to the1970s, adjusted the very 3D action to 2D so he could present it in three-quarters round, and retained many of the playwright’s ‘personal whims about the production’ that modern directors sometimes ignore because they find them twee or unnecessary. Berthold succeeds on all counts.

The emotional action is dominated by the huge lurking image of the father of the family, now absent. Mother, Amanda Wingfield – a brilliantly vulnerable and passionate performance from Helen Howard – declares she loved him, and smother-mothers her two children, Tom (Jason Klarwein) and his slightly disabled sister, Laura (Kathryn Marquet), in her anxiety to see them through to secure adulthood. These two actors deserve star status for their performances also.

Equally impressive was Julian Curtis as the charming gentleman caller, Jim O’Connor who unintentionally breaks everyone’s heart.

The impact of this star-studded cast is heightened by the brilliant musical score of George Hamilton, Glenn Hughes’s atmospheric lighting design and Penny Challen’s effective set and costumes. It takes a few minutes initially to tune into the Deep South accents without which Tennessee Williams plays lack authenticity.

This is world class theatre.  Don’t miss it!

Jay McKee

Images: (from top): Helen Howard and Julian Curtis & Kathryn Marquet and Julian Curtis.

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