Find out what critics have been saying about Rebecca Frecknall’s production of Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire, now officially open at the Almeida Theatre.
’An illuminating, inventive revitalisation of a familiar piece’: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE – Almeida Theatre ★★★★★
However, Rebecca Frecknall’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre is an unusually youthful reading of a play usually marinated in the disappointments of middle age, which duly casts it in a bold, bracing new light.
‘Brings a devastating new clarity to the play’: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE – Almeida Theatre
Director Rebecca Frecknall tackles one of the greatest plays of all time, Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire back in the intimacy of the Almeida Theatre and brings a devastating new clarity to it, eschewing the distraction of a heavy set and the cliches that tend to dog interpretations of Williams, from the exaggerated Southern accents to Blanche’s affected gentility.
‘Finds all of the complexities’: The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore – Charing Cross Theatre
In recent years the ‘rediscovery’ of Summer and Smoke and an impressive production of The Night of the Iguana have awakened an interest in what are considered Williams’ lesser-known major works while the King’s Head Theatre explored identity and desire in some of the shorter pieces under the Southern Belles title, all of which are bringing the writers work to a new audience. Now, Charing Cross Theatre is hoping to do the same for 1962 flop The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore exploring the exploitation of a dying woman grasping for the meaning of her life and refusing to go quietly.
‘Applauds Williams’ technique as a conjurer’: THE GLASS MENAGERIE – Duke of York’s Theatre
Amy Adams, already an acclaimed and multi Oscar-nominated film actor with some notable stage experience in the US, makes her West End debut in Jeremy Herrin’s new version of The Glass Menagerie.
‘What’s on offer is experiencing an epic story with a roomful of strangers’: Anthony Almeida directs ETT’s Cat On A Hot Tin Roof
Love London Love Culture chatted to director Anthony Almeida about the revival of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, currently touring the UK.
NEWS: Amy Adams to make West End debut in new production of The Glass Menagerie
Six-time Academy Award nominated actress Amy Adams will make her West End debut in a new production of Tennessee Williams’ celebrated memory play The Glass Menagerie, the debut production from Second Half Productions, a new entertainment company founded by Jeremy Herrin, Alan Stacey and Rob O’Rahilly.
‘Evokes the heat & intensity of the setting’: CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF – Curve Leicester & Touring
Anthony Almeida has created not only a highly entertaining piece of theatre in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof at Curve Leicester, but a tableau of family life that can still resonate with modern audiences.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: The Two Character Play at Hampstead Theatre
Love London Love Culture rounds up what the critics have had to say about Sam Yates’ production of Tennessee Williams’ The Two Character Play at Hampstead Theatre.
‘Like watching a cross between Waiting For Godot and Noises Off’: THE TWO CHARACTER PLAY – Hampstead Theatre
The Two Character Play at London’s Hampstead Theatre was at times interesting and enjoyable and at others frustrating and perplexing.
‘Intriguing if not entirely satisfying’: THE TWO CHARACTER PLAY – Hampstead Theatre
This rare revival of The Two Character Play at Hampstead Theatre proves an interesting addition to works that reassess Tennessee Williams’ impact as a dramatist – an intellectual exercise if not an emotive one.
NEWS: Hampstead Theatre returns to live theatre with a production of Alfred Fagon’s The Death of a Black Man
Hampstead Theatre has announced its first live productions for 2021, beginning with Alfred Fagon’s The Death of a Black Man, running from 28 May to 10 July 2021, having originally premiered at the theatre in 1975. Dawn Walton, former artistic director of Eclipse Theatre Company, will make her Hampstead Theatre directorial debut.
Streetcars, Smoke & Southern Belles: Taking on Tennessee Williams
As a great American dramatist, Williams’s timeless understanding of human emotion and the particularly explosive dynamics of family groups has always been such a notable feature of his writing.
‘Gillian Anderson’s performance is a scorcher’: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE – Young Vic Theatre (Online review)
World on fire: The NT Live recording of this classic Young Vic production stars Gillian Anderson and is genuinely unmissable.
NEWS: Alexandra Palace hosts Mark Gatiss’ A Christmas Carol & Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Alexandra Palace hosts London transfers of Mark Gatiss’ new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and a major new revival of Tennessee Williams’ classic Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
NEWS: Hampstead Theatre announces season of classics to celebrate ‘60 years of original theatre’
Hampstead Theatre has announced its spring/summer 2020 programme, Hampstead Classics, celebrating 60 years of original theatre.
‘Fascinating stuff’: APPROPRIATE – Donmar Warehouse ★★★
Donmar Warehouse, London ***
Box office: 020 3282 3808 (No booking fees, £1 postage fee may apply) Telephone Mon-Sat 10am-6pm …
Text of the Day: The Night of the Iguana
Random and topical thoughts and quotes gathered by My Theatre Mates contributor Aleks Sierz, first published on www.sierz.co.uk…
‘Proves valuable & illuminating’: SOUTHERN BELLES – King’s Head Theatre
As the conclusion to a strong season of unusual Williams revivals, Southern Belles proves valuable and illuminating, concluding with an important moment of solidarity that leaves the audience with a sense of hope and the value of community to take home.
How the Mates Rate: The Night Of The Iguana at the Noel Coward Theatre
Clive Owen has returned to the West End for the first time in 18 years to play the Rev. T. Lawrence Shannon in Tennessee Williams’ The Night Of The Iguana in a new production directed by James Macdonald. So what did the Mates think of this production?