Review: THE GLASS MENAGERIE, Alexandra Place Theatre
Marc Brenner
Tennessee Williams is considered to be one of the greatest American playwrights of the twentieth century, so it is no surprise the announcement of one of his most popular plays, The Glass Menagerie, is filling the spacious Alexandra Palace Theatre with bodies, and, great anticipation. Often drawing from his own life the characters of his plays evoke attributes of himself and close family members, instilling a raw honesty and heartbreaking relatability into the worlds he creates and evokes the melodrama of the human condition.
The Glass Menagerie, a semi-autobiographical work, was first performed in 1944 and was the first of his plays to take him from being a relatively unknown playwright towards global recognition. It depicts a family dynamic doomed by clashing needs of control, freedom and loyalty. Amanda Winfield (Geraldine Somerville) is a mother of two grown-up children, Tom (Kasper Hilton-Hille) and Laura Natalie KImmerling), and was abandoned by her husband sixteen years ago. She is committed to unrealistic dreams of a prosperous life for them, however, Tom, a Merchant Mariner, wants nothing more than to escape St Louis but is haunted by his father who did just that and Laura is incredibly shy with a disability and debilitating anxiety when pushed out of her comfort zone. Both of Amanda's children show moments of heartwarming loyalty but ultimately are unable to live out their mother's fantasies for them. Disappointment runs through each other and themselves but a turning point comes when a long-awaited gentleman caller (Zacchaeus Kayode), Tom’s friend Jim, comes, presumably, for Laura which Amanda believes will be the answer to the family’s troubles. Tension and misguided hope masterfully runs through every moment. This is the kind of text that is a dream to work on but also a great responsibility.
Unfortunately, this responsibility has not been as robustly grasped as it could be in the latest adaptation of the classic text directed by Artri Banerjee. It is a co-presentation between the Rose Theatre, Alexandra Palace Theatre, and Belgrade Theatre in association with the Royal Exchange Theatre and on paper has a powerhouse team of creatives at its disposal but falls short in the execution of its well-intended modernisation of the classic.
The set is sparse with no more than some chairs and occasional symbolic props placed around in the vacant space with the one main feature being a giant, continuously rotating neon sign that says ‘Paradise’ above the action. The movements of the performers often correlate with this slow rotation which connects to the theme of memory and time and offers a dreamlike space for the characters to exist in. This choice is bold and puts the actors in a position to carry not only the weight of the language but also the imagery of the story through their physical being. This demand tends to interfere with the honesty of the language as the text and physical world struggle to harmonise. There is also a contradiction in the period this version is set in. Music and a Walkman all too obviously suggest it is set in the 80’s yet there is nothing much more to support this which makes it difficult for original time-specific text which suggests otherwise, to be given over to suspension of disbelief.
Act one in particular struggles to find the momentum and tension needed between the characters, however, act two picks it up. When we finally get to meet Jim, the gentleman caller, there is more gravitas and truth in the moments between Jim and Laura that evoke a melancholic hope, sensitivity and kindness to contrast with the overbearing environment set up by the mother. This allows moments of disappointment to resonate deeper.
Williams has a way of writing for women that, even today, offers dimension and hits with brutal honesty like no other. Somerville’s performance as the iconic mother Amanda is generally held well and finds a flow but is hard to shake the feeling that the concept of the production didn’t give quite enough for her to work with. The character demands a lot from the actor and the overall stakes of the world were never quite high enough.
This is an ambitious production which has a clear respect for William's ground-breaking play and a desire to interpret the story for modern audiences in a new way. Although it doesn’t quite manage to hit the emotional or conceptual mark it intends, there is a lot of heart that has gone into this work.
*** Three Stars
Reviewed by Stephanie Osztreicher
For more information, click here