Suddenly Last Summer

This one act memory play from Tennessee Williams slowly fills in the backstory of the events leading up to the unpleasant death of Sebastian Venable the previous summer. Reputational legacy and financial rewards subtly do battle with medical ethics and the fate of a young woman, while the outcome of this battle is dependent on this very woman’s credibility; a problem given her mental instability. Although this is a slow-burning play that never fully resolves satisfactorily it certainly provides plenty of food for thought. Indeed, the director informed me that the cast felt the need to work through their own post-story in order to better inform their characterization, with the result that the whole cast gelled very well indeed and that a post-curtain resolution could be satisfactorily developed that was internally consistent and which could be fore-shadowed by the performances of each actor. This thorough approach was evident throughout and included significant attention to accents, costumes, set and even the sound and fragrance! There were several occasions during the play when lavender, citrus and other fragrances seemed to diffuse through the audience – an interesting touch (or should that be smell?). Performances were very strong indeed, particularly from the lead characters. Barbara Llewellyn was superb as Mrs. Venable; she was languid yet forceful, charming yet devastating, disarming and certainly accustomed to getting her own way.  Joe Kennedy was a suitable foil as the Doctor.  By no means a pushover, despite being discomfited by Mrs Venable’s initially seductive but eventually pecuniary inducements, Joe did not let his emotions get too stretched too early, leaving him nowhere to go. This was a nicely judged evolution of character as the evidence slowly accumulated in his mind. Jade Flack as Catherine was excellent. It is very difficult to play a character with mental instabilities whilst also being under the influence of some form of injectable drug. (Presumably scopolamine which would have been available in the 1930s). The characterization, however, was very credible and included moments of confusion, dizziness, drowsiness, all of which would have been symptomatic of scopolamine.  In the hands of CTW Suddenly Last Summer was a very engaging production. I may not be a fan of Tennessee Williams but this was a very good production indeed.

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