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21st February - 8th March
Peter Rowe's take on the widely celebrated, semi-autobiographical late Tennessee creation 'The Glass Menagerie', very well performed to a packed auditorium, is both entertaining and provocative.
The Glass Menagerie focuses solely on one family: the much talked about yet absent father, somewhat smothering mother Amanda, Tom the restless son, and the quiet and dreamy daughter Laura. The unmarried Laura, in her twenties, is fairly indifferent to the idea of marriage, and seems content in her own far-off, imaginary world. Her mother, however, is obsessed with the idea, and spends a great deal of time and effort attempting to find gentleman callers for her daughter. When she eventually persuades Tom to bring home a seemingly suitable man from the warehouse in which he works, Amanda is thrilled; it soon transpires, however, that this meeting is not to be as smooth and successful as hoped.
Stimulating and complex, The Glass Menagerie is a fascinating insight into family conflict; because there are so few characters, the three main ones are explored fully and deeply. Although in places the dramatic pauses can feel more pause than drama, the fairly leisurely pace is generally maintained, and the audience watch as Williams delves ever deeper into each character.
All four of the minimal cast were excellent; particularly strong, I feel, are Kate Spiro [Amanda] and Ilan Goodman [Tom]. Although all of the actors carried off the performance with a faithful and elegant style which held true to the drama, these two were particularly well cast, providing not only excellent dramatic moments, but some wonderfully humorous light relief on occasion.
The occasional breaks into narration from the drama are very well done, with Tom coming out of character and stepping into his narrative role. The lighting also helps this, spotlighting him and hence preventing the audience from becoming distracted by the rest of the stage.
Dawn Allsopp's wonderful set is also very important, with several levels and the fire escape so central to the play, as an escape route for the characters and, in a way, Williams himself.
The autobiographical element is very evident throughout the play, particularly in the characters; both the overbearing mother and shy, fragile sister bear a strong resemblance to Williams’ own family.
Overall, a strong if somewhat lengthy production, The Glass Menagerie is a heavy and complex drama; it won’t uplift you, but it will most definitely give you something to think about.
Nicole Gull and Charlotte Seager
22 February 2008 |