Preview: The Glass Menagerie – WUDS

This term we see WUDS present The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. I caught up with some of the cast and crew to see how the rehearsal process was going and what we could expect from the performance.

Director Courtney Buchner focuses a lot on the intimacy of her cast, only having four characters allowed her to read in to their in depth nature as she was able to ‘picture each one so vividly’. It was clear that every character had so much to consider and work with in rehearsal that the process was inclusive for the whole cast, which is one of the reasons Courtney chose The Glass Menagerie, for its intimacy and character focus.

The performance will take place in the Arts Centre Studio so it will be interesting to see how the actors explore and hold their own in this large space. Producer Oscar Owen commented that ‘in a term when there are so many larger productions, with this much smaller cast, especially within the studio it will be nice for audiences see something more intimate and character driven.’

The set, concept and direction of Courtney’s interpretation seems to differ from other interpretations, it is a fresh approach to the script which includes a white studio space, something which has never been done before. Courtney described Hattie Collins’s set design as something ‘completely different to what people would expect from the studio.’ The team plan to follow the script closely in using what Williams intended, for instance the use of projection. This has been criticised in the past for having an alienating effect on the audience however Courtney pointed out that because they are ‘changing the set it will no longer be alienating, the set will mimic [the projections] in an abstract way.’

Laura Bennett, who is playing Laura, has enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of rehearsals, ‘it feels comfortable and it feels really nice to be in a small cast with people you can trust. The team that come to rehearsals is so tiny it means you can really focus.’ Playing Tom Wingfield, Angus Imrie echoed these sentiments ‘It’s been very open, liberating and unrestricted.’ The mother of these two characters, Amanda, is played by Antonia Salib. She explained to me how they toiled with the idea of accents but came to the conclusion that ‘the play has such a distinct style that lends itself so well to the accents.’ Particularly for her character who has an iconic southern bell accent she stated ‘I found as soon I got in to the accent it helped my characterisation so much.’ It was evident in rehearsal that the American accents really lifted the performance, and made it feel more honest to Williams’s intentions.

As part of the #MemoryPlay campaign a memory board which passers-by in the Arts Centre contributed to will be on display outside the Studio during Week 5. The team have also been running a photo competition in which you mimic a childhood photo. This is open until the end of week 4 with the chance to win a free ticket to see the performance.

With so many exciting set ideas, character insights and such a fresh look at a classic script, The Glass Menagerie is not to be missed. Courtney declares ‘If the audience are willing to throw themselves in to this play, they will leave with a great experience.’

Throw yourselves in and purchase your tickets for the performance running from Wednesday 4^th until Saturday 7^th February. Tickets are available from the Arts Centre box office and website.