It’s not difficult to see why a young Morrissey was inspired by the outsider nature of Tennessee Williams, particularly in The Glass Menagerie. This production, directed by Andrew Panton of Dundee Rep Theatre, references the early leanings of The Smiths. Declan Spaine, during the first act, creates an evocative atmosphere playing electric guitar and singing the occasional top-line melody. He plays a few bars of Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, and it’s a perfect fit. Later, Spaine takes on the role of gentleman caller Jim O’Connor and, using his nickname for Tom Wingfield, refers to ‘Shakespeare’s Sister’, also the name of The Smiths’ 1985 single. I won’t unpack all the connections here, but it works well. The Glass Menagerie shares much in common with the British kitchen sink dramas of the 1960s. The drama takes place in one room, and Sara Stewart is both humorous and tragic as the widowed former southern belle. Her focus is on her fragile daughter, Laura (Amy Conachan), and making sure she is married off to a potential gentleman caller before much longer.

The story is introduced as a ‘memory play’, perhaps one of the most potent and humorous scenes is when Amanda digs out her old yellow dress from days gone by, the audience watch as the dust swoops around the darkness of the stage and she swishes around while recalling better days. Christopher Jordan-Marshall as Tom is a keen moviegoer, or he is perhaps leading a secret life away from his domineering mother. An explosive argument with Amanda leads to her shaming him and his celebration of an imagined, hidden, nocturnal existence. His domestic life and dead end job are not what he wants; it’s clear whether his evenings are spent at the movies or not, they are filled with escape. Spaine fills the stage with the huge character of O’Connor; he gently coaxes Laura with his charm, extravagant body-language, and conversation, but the relationship will go nowhere, and it soon comes crashing to a painful and tragic halt for everyone. The honesty of the writing continues to shine through. 80 years on, this play has lost none of its cutting-edge and driving power while telling us something about the human condition.

Reviewed by Richard Purden.

Four Stars

https://lyceum.org.uk/events/the-glass-menagerie