A Heart of Glass

History has a way of repeating itself; and with the current economic slump, Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie seems not as much as a look back to bygone years but a startling and frank look at what could happen to our disillusioned youth.

The Salisbury Playhouse & Shared Experience production directed by Polly Teale tells Williams’ four character memory play narrated by Tom Wingfield (Patrick Kennedy) as he remembers life for him, his sister Laura (Emma Lowndes), his mother Amanda (Imogen Stubbs) with the gentleman caller Amanda is so keen for Laura to meet (Kyle Soller). Set in St Louis in 1937, they struggle to make ends meet and make a successful life for themselves following the departure of Tom and Laura’s father years before. The Glass Menagerie is set in the midst of the Great Depression where at the height of this bleak time, around 25% of America’s workforce were unemployed. It is particularly pertinent then that this play has come around again, where in Britain there are record numbers of unemployed graduates.

Teale’s production stays faithful to the original text, with a fittingly bleak set designed by Naomi Dawson complimented by Colin Grenfell’s murky lighting giving truthfulness to the setting. As an ensemble cast, the four actors worked well together bringing slickness to the production and a sense of desperation as the story grows. Emma Lowndes’ moving portrayal of Laura in her social difficulties with her gentleman caller was particularly exceptional within a solid production of this classic.