Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Synopsis

Its summer, and very hot, in the house of Big Daddy - the Mississippi delta's richest cotton planter. Maggie fights to save her marriage to his son. Imprisoned by the past the family is torn apart by revelations of lust, greed and envy. A Pulitzer Prize winner.

Our Review:

20 September 2001

It's raining cats aplenty and the steam's rising off a couple of dogs too at the Lyric where the long-anticipated revival of Tennessee Williams' 1955 play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, brings proof positive of at least two oft-repeated maxims: classics are timeless and some things are worth waiting for.

This Bill Kenwright production has been the focus of stage tittle-tattle for the past year, with some dismissing as gimmicky the casting of Hollywood stars Brendan Fraser and Frances O'Connor along with Ned Beatty. But while Kenwright may well have had the appeal to North American tourists in mind (unaware, of course, of the post foot-and-mouth terrorist attacks that have cut off their supply yet further), substance has not been sacrificed in any way. This is an all-star cast that exceeds expectations in a piece that, under Anthony Page's direction, seems fresher and more poignant than ever.

At a Mississippi plantation house (rendered by Maria Bjornson's...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com - 30 December 2001:

A really good production of a great play. Brendan Fraser is better than someone would think, and Frances O'Connor excellent. However Ned Beatty and especially Gemma Jones steal the show. ...

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