The Glass Menagerie

A BBC Radio 3 Full-Cast Production

By: Tennessee Williams

Narrated by: Anastasia Hille, George MacKay, Patsy Ferran, Sope Dirisu

Anastasia Hille stars as Amanda Wingfield and George MacKay as her son Tom in BBC Radio 3’s landmark production of Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece

Tennessee Williams's iconic play tells the story of a family trapped in their own unhappy situation and the shattering of their quiet existence when is stranger is brought home.

Tom shares the cramped and claustrophobic tenement home with his over-bearing mother, Amanda and painfully shy sister, Laura. He works in a warehouse but dreams of becoming a poet, escaping his mundane life. Laura hides at home lacking the confidence to engage meaningfully with the outside world, preferring instead to lose herself in her collection of fragile glass animals. Amanda sells magazine subscriptions over the phone and commits herself to finding a match for her daughter. One day, Tom succumbs to his mother's pressure and brings home a gentleman caller…

Creating a dream-like atmosphere, The Glass Menagerie has remained one of Williams’ most touching, tender and painful works.

Tennessee Williams's drama is one of the most loved and well-known stage plays of the 20th century. It won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award in 1945 and paved the way for Williams to become one of America’s most highly regarded playwrights.

The Glass Menagerie is introduced by John Lahr, author of the acclaimed biography Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh.

Cast:

Amanda . . . . . Anastasia Hille

Tom . . . . . George MacKay

Laura . . . . . Patsy Ferran

Jim . . . . . Sope Dirisu

Directed and produced by Sasha Yevtushenko

Sound design by Peter Ringrose and Caleb Knightley.

Production co-ordinator: Mabel Wright

Music for violin arranged and performed by Bogdan Vacarescu

©2019 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2019 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The speakers made it.

The emotion the readers were able to convey helped the listener feel as though it was a live performance.

An American classic

Excellent performance of one of the most important pieces of American drama. An immersive recording that helps the listener imagine the staging of the play.

Bravo

Very well done and well written! Well worth the listen! I definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys plays!

Sad

Sad family, terrible partnering. This is a story about a sad girl, an angry boy and an insane mother. Enjoy.

Nice to revisit this book

Having read this book in high school, it’s been on my mind to read it again. I didn’t remember the story but remember loving it.

Liberty Science

This is liberty science. Everybody should have read and think about that theatre. Very emotional.

Good

I felt that this audio book was really good because it’s almost like listening to a movie due to their being different voices for different characters the story it’s self as well had a bit of a sad ending but was interesting to follow!

An arresting performance of a fantastic play

This is a very well executed dramatic performance of one of the best plays ever written. I absolutely recommend.

Old fashioned storytelling, unlikeable characters

The storytelling is a bit slow and old fashioned. The plot follows the familiar "rags to rags" theme, but it's not as good as "Death of a Salesman." Unlike the Willy Loman character in that play, we never really feel a connection to these whiny, self-absorbed misfits. The younger characters finished high school six years ago, yet their lives are nailed to the floor and incapable of letting the wind take them anywhere else, never mind setting goals for themselves. Only Tom's character arc suggests he will escape and move on -- but the conclusion is ambiguous. The symbolism is way too heavy-handed, like the breaking of the glass unicorn. "Where the Wind Never Blows" would have been a better title. The performances are surprisingly amateurish for a BBC production. The lines are often delivered like, stiff, cold reads. One wonders if there was a rehearsal before the recording session? Still, it's more enjoyable than listening to a straight narrative. The production values are the standout. The sound design is what you'd expect from the BBC and they take full advantage of the stereo imagery. Since this was from a stage play, it would have been even more interesting to present this in binaural (3D) sound.