A Trio of Tennessee Williams

Performing three of Tennessee Williams’ lesser know works was always going to be a challenge – even for audiences familiar with his style and genre - and this was an excellent evening of theatre with the opportunity for Q&A with cast and director which helped the audience appreciate their approach and motivation. Fox & Hound Theatre company is not regularly funded, so it was great to see a full auditorium, attentive and appreciative of their production.

Ellie Jay Stevens the director of this ‘trio’ clearly has a passion for the work and storytelling of Tennessee Williams. Working and touring with Fox & Hound Theatre Company, she is clearly excited to bring these works to life in venues like the Tobacco Factory Theatre. Those familiar with and fans of Williams’ more well-known works won’t be disappointed here as there are plenty of parallels to draw across the 3 plays: Ivan’s Widow, Talk to Me Like Rain and Let Me Listen, 27 Wagons Full of Cotton. Notably, the indomitable resilience of the central female character (all performed by Helen Fox), played alongside a domineering male counterpart/s (Massimilliano Acerbi and Codge Crawford).

Clever use of a set, built from donated materials, see the stage as a psychiatrist’s office c. 1950s, the claustrophobic interior of a New York studio flat and the porch of a farm cottage in 1930s Mississippi. Lighting, window frames and shutters were cleverly combined to great effect to create each setting.

Of the three, Ivan’s Widow was the least rounded in terms of performance, lacking some pace and the use of repetitive blackouts as punctuation became distracting; Acerbi sadly lacked conviction and authenticity as the predatory psychiatrist whose intentions wavered between commitment to his patient and his more sinister proclivities. Costume choice for the widow seemed inappropriate (remarked upon by a few other audience members during the interval). Perhaps this, or nerves, impacted Fox’s performance as Ivan’s widow, which, for me, lacked persuasion and belied her acting abilities (evidenced in the subsequent plays).

In stark contrast, her performance in Talk To Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen was both convincing and heartfelt. We truly sensed the loneliness she felt being left at home while the man in her life (Cudge) squanders his benefits on drink. Her soliloquy describing her imagined existence in a distant motel by the beach was superb and truly drew the audience in, so we fully understood her repeated protest ‘I want to go away’.

In 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, for me, the best of this trio; we see Flora Meighan, a hapless young wife in a dysfunctional relationship with Jake Meighan (adroitly played by Codge) on their porch in Mississippi on sultry summer evening. When fire breaks out on a neighbouring cotton gin (we discover quickly the fire was set by Jake) we learn the true nature of this abusive relationship as he encourages Flora (Fox) to remember the lie about his whereabouts that night. Silva Vicarro (Acerbi) is the neighbour who turns to Jake Meighan to help with his 27 wagons of cotton. While Jake works Silva takes full advantage of being along with Flora to mentally torture and finally rape her. Characterisations were excellent across this piece.

Paula Luke