Kingdom of Earth

Initially a short story inspired by a chance meeting, embellished by
personal experience and first staged in 1967, Tennessee Williams’ often
comic melodrama gets a rare revival to mark the centenary of his birth.

The
characters are quintessential Williams – Joseph Drake’s effeminate,
tubercular, cross-dressing Lot returning to his Mississippi Delta farmhouse
as the flood waters are rising, tarty Myrtle (Fiona Glascott) whom,
tactically, he’s just married on a TV show, and his earthy, resentful
half-brother Chicken (David Sturzaker), the “dark-complected” consequence
of their father’s extramarital dalliance.

It doesn’t stand comparison with the best of his work, but Lucy Bailey’s
well-acted production develops into a sexually charged game of cat-and-mouse
as, with Lot slumped impotently on the levee of Ruth Sutcliffe’s
treacherously silted design, Chicken plays dirty to secure his inheritance.

4/5

The Print Room, 34 Hereford Road, W2 5AJ
08444 77 1000
Tube: Notting Hill Gate
Until 28th May
£16.00
the-print-room.org

– Louise Kingsley