The Glass Menagerie- Yard Theatre, London

Writer: Tennessee Williams

Director: Jay Miller

Jay Miller’s interpretation of Tennessee Williams’s arguably most autobiographical play brings a refreshing, creative and bold last hurrah for the Yard Theatre before it closes and transforms. Audiences enter to find Cecile Trémolières’s eclectically designed space, featuring a suspended menagerie of glass figurines, a chaise longue and a Narnia-like wardrobe from which characters emerge. A man with a headlamp illuminates different areas of the stage including a wall he sprays paints blue beside the figure of a man who we later learn is his absent father.

This visually rich world sets the tone for Tom Wingfield’s narration as he introduces that what we are about to witness is ‘truth in disguise of illusion’. Tom lives with his sensitive and reclusive sister Laura and their overbearing yet tenacious mother Amanda. Her shrill morning command to ‘rise and shine’ reverberates throughout the space with Josh Anio Grigg’s sound design amplifying key lines in an eerily whimsical soundscape. This arresting effect highlights Williams’s lyrical language, philosophical musings and poetry.

Miller’s distinct vision layers a mismatch of elements and contrasting genres to heighten and add a stylistic lens to Williams’s poetic text in a way that brings a fresh clarity to the play’s richness of story and theme. Miller’s staging uses distancing effects to explore the intricate family dynamics, seamlessly integrating with Sung Im Her’s movement direction and resulting in a heightened theatricality that magnifies the fragility at the play’s core.

The second half shifts focus to Laura, as her storyline takes centre stage. Amanda, exasperated by her lack of ambition, persuades Tom to invite a colleague from the warehouse to see if he is an eligible ‘gentleman caller’ for Laura. While Sarah Readman’s expressive use of colour punctuates earlier moments, it is the candlelit intimacy of this pivotal scene that sheds light on their developing relationship. The flickering light draws us deeper into Laura’s delicate complexity and the palpable chemistry between her and Jim O’Connor. Lambdog1066’s costume design for Jim, an audacious bright yellow suit cinched with a corseted hint of cowboy attire, is just one example of how the play’s costume further underscores the production’s playful and stylised approach.

Miller’s The Glass Menagerie is steeped in imagination, elevating every poetic beat of Williams’s writing with meticulous detail. The creative team squeezes out the heart of this play and the production embodies the Yard Theatre’s commitment to bold, innovative storytelling. It serves as a fitting final production before its refurbishment, yet remains a tantalising glimpse of what is to come.

Runs until 10 May 2025