| Director's
Note: Tennessee Williams' play is
set in one room of a planatation mansion
owned by Big Daddy Pollitt, in the
1950s. It is Big Daddy's 65th birthday
and he does not know that he is dying of
cancer. The rest of the family does know
but Big Daddy has left no will.
Therefore, the two sides of the Pollitt
family struggle to inherit the
plantation. On the one side is Big
Daddy's older son Gooper, a lawyer, and
his wife Mae; and on the other is a
childless couple, Big Daddy's younger
and favourite son Brick and his wife
Margaret, referred to by everyone
including herself as "Maggie the Cat".
Both sides have first to convince Big
Daddy (and his wife Big Mama) that he is
dying, and second that their side has
the better claim on the estate. Gooper's
side is united in putting forward their
case but Maggie's side is not. She needs
the inheritance but Brick has become a
drunk since the death of his best friend
Skipper. He cares nothing about the
inheritance, has come to loathe Maggie
whom he blames for Skipper's death,
refuses to sleep with her, and has
turned to drink. The central theme of
the play may be summed up by Big Daddy's
line What's that smell in this room? Didn't you notice it, Brick? Didn't you
notice the powerful and obnoxious odor
of mendacity in this room? The play
was first produced in 1955 and there are
several version including the popular
1958 movie version, which was sanitized
for the movie-going public of the day
(principally to remove any explicit
references to the taboo subject of
Brick's homosexuality), and which
Williams reportedly detested. Our
production uses Williams' final version
and is based on the 1974 production by
the American Shakespeare Theater.
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