THE GLASS MENAGERIE

The Yard Theatre

★★★★

“a gorgeous revival that succeeds in bringing a fresh perspective on a classic play”

Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie is an iconic play that will always divide critical opinion. Many claim it to be Williams’ best work so it can be hard to adapt such a piece whose text is already so beloved. Yet Jay Miller is fearless in his contemporary approach to theatre making and this play is no different.

The Glass Menagerie follows the narration of Tom Wingfield (Tom Varey) as he recalls the last few weeks of his time living with his Mother, Amanda (Sharon Small), and sister, Laura (Eva Morgan). During this time Amanda is on a tiresome search to find Laura a husband, given her lack of other prospects due to dropping out of business school. Luckily, Tom brings home his colleague Jim (Jad Sayegh) for dinner. However all is not what it seems with Jim, and what proceeds may break Laura’s heart.

The play opens with Tom’s introductory monologue and makes use of the distinctions of setting in the text with the actual staging. There’s music in the background, an image of the moon looms over the stage and the entire room is hazy like a distant memory. It’s an excellent introduction to Tom as a narrator, which continues perfectly throughout. Throughout Act One there are scene changes that reflect Tom jumping through memories, for example when Amanda is on the phone selling magazines to various people. Here the set (Cécile Trémolières) and lighting (Sarah Readman) work perfectly together to create different spaces of the otherwise very intimate space to create these time jumps. Tom is often both in the action as it happens and commenting on it. It is clear throughout that even though we may watch him in the scenes, he is still very much on the outside – reflecting how much Tom feels like an outlier from the very family and social path he has been given in life.

The performances in this show are spectacular throughout. Sharon Small portrays the matriarchal Amanda with a commanding yet sympathetic spirit which allows the audience to identify with her good intentions. Tom Varey is incredibly succinct and whole in his characterisation of Tom and I often thought he must have been having a lot of fun while playing such a rollercoaster of a character. Eva Morgan triumphs in the timid, shy sensibilities of Laura but still relishes in her youthful joy and curiosity for her interests. It’s a beautiful portrayal in what can be a highly misunderstood and challenging role. And Jad Sayegh finds the perfect comedic beats throughout his small time in the action. Sayegh is used throughout Act One as a symbol, often stalking in the background. Tom describes him in the text as “the long-delayed but always expected something that we live for”. Sayegh stares at the action, waiting for the perfect moment to join, wearing a bright yellow spot suit-like attire (a unique choice from Lambdog1066).

There were moments where the technical choices were a bit imposing such as the use of strobe lighting and flashes throughout which were a little disorientating, but luckily they were used for less than ten seconds each time.

Overall, The Glass Menagerie at The Yard Theatre is a gorgeous revival that succeeds in bringing a fresh perspective on a classic play, finding the perfect balance between fast paced time jumps and wonderful dialogue that is given the space to breathe. A fantastic show to end on before The Yard closes ahead of reopening next year in its new purpose built home. I cannot wait to see what they bring to the new space if this is anything to go by.