Review – WUDS The Glass Menagerie

Chairs hanging from the ceiling; the tension is palpable, it’s strange and, in a way, oddly funny.

I have to admit, I really didn’t know what to expect on seeing glass and furniture suspended around a stage which was occupied by little white stools and a projector screen. The Warwick University Drama Society (WUDS) made out of this a tense and at times breathtaking storyline, with light touches of humour and irony.

The Glass Menagerie depicts a family caught between each other and their own dreams: Tom, the son, works to support the family but longs for adventure, while mother Amanda seeks to re-live her glory days through her daughter, Laura. But Laura lives in the dream-world of her glass collection. As time goes by, all of the family’s hopes of moving forward come to rely on Laura receiving a ‘gentleman caller’, although when one arrives it doesn’t turn out the way that they expect.

On a production level, WUDS’ rendition of this play by Tennessee Williams is beautifully put together from start to finish. All the multimedia used, such as screen projections and music, worked well with the quirky staging and provocative opening lines. Technical aspects were spot on too, with some lovely detail paid to lighting and stage effects throughout.

But more importantly, it’s one of the most engaging shows I’ve seen in a long time. A gripping combination of sadness interspersed with hope and ironic comedy, the play is truly moving in a way that only happens when you really care about the characters.

And you do. It’s evident that WUDS have devoted a great deal of time to getting their roles just right, which means the abstract style is no barrier to identification; every interaction is believable on an emotional level.

Right in the middle of this tension sits the comic contrast between Amanda (the mother) and Laura (her daughter). For every awkward silence on Laura’s part, Amanda has a thousand chattering words – most of which are about herself. Amanda (Antonia Salib) does a wonderful job of milking this for all its worth, but it’s Laura (Laura Bennett) who steals the show. Her nervousness and other-worldliness are utterly convincing.

Angus Imrie as Tom and Gareth Roberts playing Jim offer similarly strong performances.. Gareth, as ‘gentleman caller’ has a great rapport with Laura, making for some genuinely beautiful moments. Tom’s character introduces himself as having the special function of both character and narrator in the play. Indeed, Angus managed Tom’s role of narrator so well that the sound of smashing (glass?) somewhere backstage was brushed off with such easy cheeriness that I’m only half sure it wasn’t intentional, leaving us to plunge straight back into the story.