By Tennessee Williams. Ensemble Theatre, Sydney. Directed by Shaun Rennie. 15 May – 10 June 2023
When it first appeared in 1958, Suddenly Last Summer, at 90 minutes, seemed so short that it had to be accompanied by another play by Tennessee Williams, Something Unspoken. Now, of course, it’s the perfect length, packed full of scandal and melodrama, including lobotomy, pederasty and cannibalism. It’s also ‘perhaps the most poetic play’ the great American playwright ever wrote, which for Williams is saying a lot.