The Rose Tattoo

The Rose Tattoo
By Tenessee Williams. The Guild Theatre Limited, Walz Street, Rockdale. August 4 to September 2, 2017

Who knew Tennessee Williams had written a comedy? I confess, I didn’t!

Here I was, settled into the comfy, intimate Guild Theatre at Rockdale, expecting the angst and drama of A Streetcar Named Desire or The Glass Menagerie, caught up in the dramas of an Italian / American widow, a seamstress, grieving over her idealized (but philandering) husband, amidst a community of sometimes bitchy, sometimes protective, neighbours, alternately determined protect and disillusion her. Yet the second act turned to romantic comedy, with the widow’s unlikely new lover, and her attempts to conceal him from her daughter.

The play is driven by that central character, Serafina Delle Rose, on stage for almost the entire production. It’s a rollercoaster ride of a role, and a challenge that is shouldered impressively by Maria Micallef, travelling through the passionate expression of her love for her husband, through her emotionally crippling and socially debilitating grief of the first act, into delicious quirky comedy in the second act.

In the first act, particularly, her performance is effectively supported by a kind of ‘Greek’ chorus of women, previously mentioned, whose postures and physicality alone convey much. They double up as other characters, including Serafina’s customers, one of whom is her husband’s mistress. A strange, ambiguous neighbor, regularly searching the yard for her goats, cackles menacingly at events while casting an evil eye. In addition to this strong female ensemble, Donny Muntz impresses as an aging, dogmatic priest.

As Serafina’s daughter Rosa, entangled in her mother’s grief, Maxine Solari’s affective, engaging performance draws immense empathy from the audience. As her sailor boyfriend Jack, Andrew Nicholls’ genuine, credible performance, warm and affectionate with Rosa, and bewildered by, yet respectful of, Serafina, comes across convincingly as an upstanding young man.

When a new man, randy truck driver Alvaro, stumbles onto Serafina’s home after being the victim of a road rage incident on the nearby highway, Philip Chaffey delivers a comically likeable character.

Director / set designer Jim Searle’s effective skeletal setting allows all the interior and exterior of Serafina’s home to co-exist seamlessly.

Tennessee Williams should have dabbled more in comedy, if this engaging, humorous is anything to go by. The Guild’s production offers a welcome opportunity to catch this lesser known work by one of the modern American theatre’s greats.

Neil Litchfield

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