Reviews

• Jim Hawthorne

  May 1, 2017

  Absolutely superb. A beautiful and atmospheric staging of a terrific play, with excellent performances to match. A memorable afternoon at the theatre.

• AlisonG.

  Apr 28, 2017

  Evocative and brilliantly portrayed. Performances and characterisation that remain with you well after the play is over - timeless and moving!

• Tony Bolger

  Apr 26, 2017

  Beautiful new production of a classic play. Terrific performances. A very engrossing and moving experience.

• Martha

  Apr 25, 2017

  I thought the production and artistic choices were brilliantly pulled together and breathed new life into this play. The set design and lighting was so clever and introduced a really exciting dimension. Also, the acting brought the characters to life in a highly realistic way, to the point of absolute frustration with them as people, rather than characters. The actress who played Laura brought me to tears in the second act (and on the tube home afterwards) and her position as the glue in the middle of the play was subtle but poignant.

• Bobbie-Chan

  Apr 23, 2017

  This was our first visit to the Duke of York's theatre to celebrate for my daughter's diploma exam!! We were so impressed with a friendliness and a good manner of all staffs, as well as the production itself. Good story, I liked the Laura's so charactalistic acting. We would love to come back soon again. Thank you so much for the memorable evening!!

• Ann Taylor

  Apr 23, 2017

  First class acting,first rate performances,a truly enjoyable afternoon not to be missed......

• Lorraine

  Apr 22, 2017

  Wonderful performances from all players. It was almost too painful to watch. I felt I had seen a real slice of what is was like to live through those times.

• Liz

  Apr 18, 2017

  Superb acting- really brought this play alive for me. Engaging, funny, thought- provoking, sad. Would highly recommend.,

• Anna

  Apr 16, 2017

  Powerfull, amazing, breathtaking!

• Lucy

  Apr 16, 2017

  Excellent performance from all the Actors

• Glenys Roberts

  Apr 14, 2017

  Utterly brilliant production, performances and of course brilliant writing. Laura was particularly touching. I love Tennessee Williams but did not know this play and did not expect it to turn out as it did. Families- don't we hate them and love them and aren't they responsible for everything that we become. I would recommend it to anyone.

• Maisie

  Apr 13, 2017

  This was a mesmerising and powerful play. I found all the actors were outstanding, and the set was unique and added to the atmosphere. A thought provoking production which will leave memories for a long time after you have left the theatre.

• Lydia Parnell

  Apr 8, 2017

  Beautiful play, very well acted and a joy to watch. Would very much recommend.

• Louise Kenton

  Apr 4, 2017

  It is a thought provoking play, with some wonderful performances. Kate O'Flynn as Laura gave a particularly sensitive portrayal of a difficult role. It is a sad tale of human fragility and delusion, although there are tragi-comic moments and our audience did laugh! Me, my husband and 15 yr old daughter discussed the themes at length. Very satisfying. I'd go again.

• Antonia

  Apr 2, 2017

  Unfortunately I found that the two male performances were lacking, with jarring, and often slipping, accents and inconsistent characteristics. The main role of Laura was very good and the mother had a solid presence, but quite a cliched role. It was by far an uplifting play and we came out a little exhausted and feeling like we'd just listened to a lot of family arguments (I know this is what the play is about so we were expecting a little of this, but perhaps some lighter moments too). There was some dry humour.

• Sophie Mitchell

  Mar 27, 2017

  This production of The Glass Menagerie is a gentle and involving production that makes you laugh while allowing you to slowly fall in love with the characters. A thoughtful and classic production.

• Maria

  Mar 18, 2017

  Brilliant!

• Frances Francis

  Mar 17, 2017

  A great performance. Lucky we didn't know the end which was very sad.

• David

  Mar 17, 2017

  My wife and I finally saw this play after wanting to for many years, and we were not disappointed. Strong, very moving story, evocative of the time and place, and very well acted. Just what an evening of live theatre can offer that other media cannot.

• John Cook

  Mar 15, 2017

  A wonderful play, wonderfully performed. The scene with Laura and Jim in Act 2 was heart- rending and spell- binding .

• H D Finley

  Mar 14, 2017

  John Tiffany's production is gorgeous and sensitive. The performances are good and in some instances revelatory. The stylised movement doesn't really work nor is it necessary but, this is a minor quibble, and one can understand what Mr Tiffany is trying to illuminate. Natasha Katz' lighting is beautiful and a vital elelment to the production. My major problem with this production is that Mr Tiffany has decided to change some of the language, which granted is challenging for a modern audience, but it is necessary for the time the play is set and for the character of Amanda. The language is offensive, and it should be, and it should make us uncomfortable. By altering this element he does a disservice to the play, and to us the audience.

• one who loves the theatre!

  Mar 13, 2017

  This is an exceptional play with first-class acting. You must see this.

• Oakwood

  Mar 10, 2017

  If you want a sad evening, this is it. What a play for disappointment and hopelessness. Yes it's about love, but too much, not enough, non-existent, imagined As regards the production the American accents are a bit weird, or why just one with an English accent

• Fabiha Haq

  Mar 8, 2017

  Amazing play, brilliantly directed and acted! A must watch for classic lovers.

• Sohalla

  Mar 5, 2017

  A fantastic production, with a particularly strong second act which left me in tears. Thoroughly recommended.

• Chris

  Mar 5, 2017

  . It was an excellent play and would highly recommend it. As is often with Tennessee Williams it had a saddish ending.

• DAN

  Mar 5, 2017

  Brilliant from the beginning to the end, fantastic performances from the whole cast.

• ZE

  Mar 3, 2017

  We thoroughly enjoyed the show, great performance from all members of the cast. The set and lighting are simple but magical.

• Sandra

  Mar 2, 2017

  I was somewhat disappointed. I found the overall performance quite flat although it did pick up after the interval. The sound quality was not great either. I paid over £70 for each ticket which was not wonderful value. I am a frequent theatre goer.

• Paul Schlicke

  Feb 27, 2017

  An excellent production of a classic play. The pathos of the second half of the play, as the gentleman caller brings Laura out of her timidity only to destroy her with his revelation that he is engaged to another, was stupendous. Sets, accents, costumes, and staging all excellent.

• B Troyan

  Feb 23, 2017

  The nostalgia and the pretention of the South. The touching refusal to face reality. A play that stays with you long aftrr you've left. Beautifully staged and wonderfully actrd

• T Basierak

  Feb 22, 2017

  It is a wonderful production and funnier than I had expected. Cherry Jones is fantastic. Loved the set and how the cast used it. The only thing I didn't love was Laura's voice. It was a little too 'wet' a little too pathetic sounding. Highly recommend this play.

• katherine Streeter

  Feb 21, 2017

  Superb production - well staged and well acted but Cherry Jones' is the stand out performance. Captures the emotional intensity of Williams' play. Scenes between Amanda and then Laura and the 'gentleman caller' are exquisitely painful. A wonderful night's theatre.

• Ruth Steven

  Feb 20, 2017

  I travelled from Glasgow after seeing a review in the Times recommending the play. I thoroughly enjoyed it and all the actors were equally good. I love Tennessee Williams so I'm biased!

• Caroline

  Feb 19, 2017

  Playing to a packed matinee , the performance was excellent. Most annoying thing was neighbours on mobiles shining brightly!!! They should be confiscated and fined before being returned to owner! Most disruptive to the whole scene!

• simon S

  Feb 17, 2017

  This is a revelationary production of Tennessee Williams beautiful memory play. I have seen gritty productions before which all the emphasis on Tom giving him great reasons for his decisions at the end of the play. Thanks to perceptive direction and outstanding acting this production is a tender and humane depiction of a Mother's desperate love for her children and her hopes for a positive future for them. Tom's motives for his actions become more ambiguous. His sister takes on a tragic hue. Her "Gentleman Caller" almost a genuinely sad character forgoing love for duty. What marvellous acting. What beautiful design. Highly recommended!

• Anne

  Feb 17, 2017

  The performance was too quiet. We could hear the train passing which spoilt the performance. I was in row K. Had I been any further back I would have been asleep. The venue was too big. The acting was good but too quiet. Very disappointing.

• Theatre fan

  Feb 17, 2017

  Impeccable in every way Kate oflynn and cherry jones in particular.

• Maria Teresa Melero de blas

  Feb 17, 2017

  I love Tennessee Willians, it was a wonderful representation of his novel, the four actors were superb, I was incapable to take my eyes off from the scenario.... first time in this theatre... so beautiful. I ll come back for sure. Thank you.

• Tom

  Feb 17, 2017

  Well staged, beautifully acted.

• Geoffrey Johns

  Feb 14, 2017

  If you see only one production of Glass Menagerie in your life time make it this one

• john holloway

  Feb 5, 2017

  This is the best performance I've seen ever. Yes, the accents slip a bit but who cares. The play's meaning/message doesn't lie in accent. The simple and effective staging helped to shape the meaning beautifully: from the birth of Laura from Tom's memory as she climbs through the sofa, to the continual references to the non-existent but ever present portrait (leading to lots of pointing towards the audience and accusing us of being the cause of it all.) The play's staging and the actors within it worked so well. Bravo! I've always thought that The Glass Menagerie is Williams' best play. Now I'm certain!

• Cozette

  Feb 5, 2017

  Very well staged. Trifle slow in the first act but really gathered momentum in the second.

• TW fan

  Feb 4, 2017

  So moving, how wonderful to see Tennessee Williams alive and well!

• Jill

  Feb 3, 2017

  The set was extremely dull, although parts of it were quirky and promising. But done without any backdrop, and a cheap screen representing the kitchen etc., it was a very lazy design. Well acted, although the American accents slipped at times. I've seen much better productions of this play

• Michael York

  Feb 1, 2017

  Although I had heard much about the Glass Menagerie, I had never seen it and welcomed this opportunity. I was not in the least disappointed. It is a perfectly balanced play, and the acting was superb. The theatre itself is a lovely treasure. In all, this is an experience to be fully recommended.

• Donna

  Jan 29, 2017

  Having never seen or read anything by Tenessee Williams before I went with an open mind although had been warned by others it wouldn't be a joyous evening. I loved every thought provoking minute from beginning to end. The way Laura entered through the back of the settee at the beginning and exited the same way truly summed up her sad life. The characters were all so remarkably believable from the Mother who simply wanted her children's lives to be right to Jim O'Connor who genuinely gets lost in the moment and leaves a poor girl heartbroken. Both Tom and Laura were also excellently portrayed. Would I see this production again; an big fat emphatical 'yes'!

• Mr C. Watson

  Jan 29, 2017

  Really impressive theatre, would highly recommend!

• Stephen Tearle.

  Jan 29, 2017

  Amazing night at the theatre all the actors where fantastic and totally committed to their roles Cherry Jones was outstanding ...as was set ... Some amazing moments that we will remember ....great work

• Ioana

  Jan 29, 2017

  Beautiful play, superb acting, very clever set. Highly recommended.