‘The Glass Menagerie’ Review: Underpowered Amy Adams Leads a Slow-Burn Rethink of Tennessee Williams’ Classic
variety.comDavid Benedict With a cast headed by Amy Adams making her West End debut, you’d be forgiven for imagining the latest production of Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie” might be everything you’d expect of a nicely upholstered revival.
Not so fast. Director Jeremy Herrin is faithful to multiple elements of Williams’ stage directions — including a screen of accompanying images above the action — but he aims to deliver the play’s essence in unexpected ways.
Stripping away almost all props and laying bare the staging mechanics, he’s attempting to expose and enhance the play’s essence.
Does he succeed? Yes and no.Herrin splits the character of Tom in two with a pensive, near mournful Paul Hilton as a reflective older narrator and a faintly exasperated Tom Glynn-Carney as young Tom, aching to escape the claustrophobia of the family home and the shoe warehouse where he works.
Read more on variety.com