The Almeida’s acclaimed production of Tennessee Williams’ SUMMER AND SMOKE has transferred this week to the Duke of York’s Theatre for a limited West End season.
Matthew Needham (John) and Patsy Ferran (Alma) in Summer & Smoke.
In typical Williams style, chilly London theatregoers are transplanted to the stupefying summer humidity of a Mississippi backwater, where we meet Alma, a minister’s daughter (Patsy Ferran). She is slight, bright, but inherently awkward and layers affectations upon her unappealing personality in a bid to intrigue and rouse the interest of John, the handsome, laconic and wayward doctor’s son who lives next door (Matthew Needham). John meanwhile rebels against his father’s undisguised disapproval and when not teasing and goading his self-conscious neighbour, finds solace in lust and liquor with less prim playmates.
As so often with such stories, despite the seeming unlikelihood, John develops a genuine affection and desire for the twitchy shrew - perhaps due to her resistance to engage in a simply physical indulgence, which appeals to his subconscious longing for something (or somebody) of substance. Alma meanwhile, shakes off her prissiness and transitions to a young woman eager to embrace the more earthly and physical manifestations of love. But do their epiphanies coincide to ensure mutual enrichment?
Played-out on a semi-circular stage whose half circumference is composed of seven, naked, upright pianos, Tom Scutt’s set conveys an environment which is both claustrophobic whilst possessing an almost church-like expanse.
Despite the play once being dismissed as “murky and pretentious” (it was deemed a rare Williams failure when it premiered on Broadway in 1948), Rebecca Frecknall has found unexpected resonance and meaning through her sensitive direction and deployment of creative and atmospheric support -particularly Angus MacRae’s piano score which adds moments which are sombre and ethereal, then vigorous and strong, by turns.
The solid supporting cast each contribute superbly towards maintaining an energised flow - irrespective of the sultry, languorous, Southern backdrop.
If you like seeking out more unusual and emerging musicals then London’s Off-West End always has plenty to offer and you may just spot the new ROCKY HORROR SHOW, which started out in a tiny venue in the 1970s.