‘Memory, Misappropriation and Menageries …

‘Memory, Misappropriation and Menageries … ‘by Ms Paige Turner.
‘The Glass Menagerie’ by Tennessee Williams – a play told in flashback by a narrator who is one of the characters. A play about fragility and seeing the past through a triangular prism: the dysfunction of a family unit of three: mother, brother, sister – all abandoned by a father who worked for a telephone company and ‘fell in love with long distances’.
My eyes fought to find the ‘The’ on the poster at the Duke of York’s. Such is this modern passion for paring down language. Mister Justin Case said I should always read the small print. A safari guide once said to me, ‘How you gonna spot a leopard if you can’t spot the butter on the table?’
There also seems to be a current passion for misappropriation. The fourth character in the play is the gentleman caller – a friend of the brother/narrator who is bullied by his mother into inviting ‘any nice friend’ to ‘call on’ his disabled sister. Jeremy Herrin has cast a young actor of colour as the gentleman caller. There is a kind of absurdity in this casting. I think it’s fair enough to cut out all of Amanda’s – the mother’s – N words but she would have been truly horrified to entertain a gentleman caller of colour for her daughter. And this play is so definitely set in thirties St Louis. I find it difficult to re-write history and distort a period play. Amanda is a product of her time and class and hence her ancient distorted thinking.
However. I’ve seen and acted in a mass of theatre in my time. And Victor Alli’s performance is one of the best I have ever had the pleasure to experience. My, does this actor own his space – which is at the root of Jim’s character counteracting Laura’s inability to own an inch of hers.
So we must accept that a dramatic licence was issued and applaud this exemplary performance.
It’s also a play about guilt. Like the brother/narrator – Williams abandoned his family to explore the wider world. Hopefully he was redeemed by giving us such classics and the royalty money for his sister’s care.
Next month: ‘Mary Poppins’.
My plays are available from www.stagescripts.com
Creative Ink for Actors Reunion – Bun Feast – Saturday 13th May, 2023. Amersham Barn Hall. 20th Anniversary – when we set out to deliver ‘Blackberry Promises’.