Review by Rosie Holmes
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The Glass Menagerie is a play about memory, first premiering in 1944, often credited with catapulting Tennessee Williams to fame. The play explores the complexity of the love and loyalty that binds a family together. This new imagining by Atri Banerjee was first seen at the Royal Exchange Theatre in 2022, and now comes to the Rose Theatre in Kingston as part of a UK tour, providing an exceptionally delicate retelling of the classic play.
The Glass Menagerie tells the story of the Wingfield family, told through the memory of Tom Wingfield. Tom feels trapped by his homelife, escaping to the movies night after night. Desperate for adventure, he is a hopeless poet working at a warehouse and providing for his mother and sister. Laura Wingfield is preternaturally shy, mentally wounded by the effects of her disability throughout her childhood she retreats into the world of glass animals she has created, and into her music, an ever-present metaphor for the father who had long since deserted the family. Amanda Wingfield is the faded Southern Belle. Repeatedly recalling the reveries of her youth, and her charm that attracted ’17 gentleman callers’, she is overbearing towards her children, while still clinging onto the days of her youth.
Geraldine Sommervile is sparkling in her portrayal of the Wingfield matriarch, bringing a tenderness to a role that is normally characterised by a more manic nature. She flits between soft, gentle manners and bouts of vicious anger, but always with the palpable notion this is all done with the love for her children, which has sometimes not been portrayed in this role, making Sommerville’s a more likable iteration of Amanda Wingfield. Kasper Hilton-Hille plays Tom, also with plenty of tenderness, whose character seeks escape as he becomes increasingly frustrated by his situation. He is assured in the role and becomes an extremely empathetic character, ending the piece with a moving monologue about the enduring power of memory and love.
Natalie Kimmerling, as the painfully shy Laura Wingfield and provides a modern take on the role, brimming with vulnerability but also able to answer back to her mother. She both exudes complete joy, in a dance routine created by Laura’s imagination, and absolute heartbreak when her dreams are shattered, and she is left devastated by the rejection of her gentleman caller. The final member of the cast is Jim O’Connor, played by Zacchaeus Kayode, hugely likeable in his portrayal of said gentleman caller. He brims with charisma, delivering a speech about the importance of embracing one’s difference with huge feeling.
This theme of difference runs throughout the play, symbolised by the small glass unicorn Laura shows Jim. Desperation also appears as a key theme, and is felt by all members of the family. Amanda is desperate for her children to be happy and ‘normal’, Tom is desperate to escape the drudgery of his life, and Laura is desperate for human connection. In fact, the staging emphasises this. On a large round stage, the characters are seen walking around and around, symbolising the cyclical drudgery of life and creating a sense of claustrophobia. Though, while it is expected of a Tennessee Williams play not to be too pacey, it did feel a little drawn out at times, occasionally making me impatient for the scene to end. That being said, I wished some scenes would never end, particularly the dance scene between Jim and Laura.
The staging by Rosanna Vize is by no means naturalistic, and in fact proves that this really is a fresh new take on the play. Sparsely decorated save for the ‘glass menagerie’ which is almost invisible and the very large neon ‘Paradise’ sign that rotates above the stage. While the word refers to the dance hall across the alley, it’s almost mocking, a reminder of the unattainable goals that hangs above the family’s heads. The sign speeds up and slows down depending on the mood of the scene, adding tension or stillness in a very effective way.
This production of The Glass Menagerie sparkles just like the glass animals of its title, not only because of its fresh new presentation but by its wonderful cast’s performances. The Glass Menagerie is heart breaking in its portrayal of family and all the more poignant considering Williams wrote the play as an autobiographical piece exploring his relationship with his sister.
The Glass Menagerie plays at Rose Theatre until 4th May 2024. Tickets and more information can be found here - The Glass Menagerie — By Tennessee Williams | Rose Theatre, Kingston, London
Photos by Marc Brenner