Die Glasmenagerie

Rotenturmstrasse 20

1010 Wien

 

Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie" is one of the most famous classics of theatrical literature. With this highly autobiographical play, Williams first gained recognition as a playwright on Broadway in New York. The story, set in 1930s St. Louis, revolves around the Wingfield family, who each try to escape their bleak reality and find refuge in their dreams. Amanda, abandoned by her husband, raised her two children, Tom and Laura, under precarious circumstances and now lives only in the memories of her youth. While Tom distracts himself with the intoxicating nightlife, his sister Laura, surrounded by her collection of glass animals, has retreated into a world of fantasy.

One evening, Jim, a friend of Tom's, is invited to a family dinner, and a tender love story blossoms between Jim and Laura. Jim becomes a figure of longing for the entire family, who hope for a better life through him. When it turns out that Jim is already engaged, not only does Laura's carefully constructed world crumble, but the fragile balance of the entire family is also thrown into disarray.

Max Lindemann is an expert on 20th-century Anglo-Saxon literature, stories that explore the constraints imposed by social class and the escape into illusions. Following his successful productions of plays by American authors such as Arthur Miller at the Berliner Ensemble, John Steinbeck at the Munich Volkstheater, and Eugene O'Neill at the Schauspiel Frankfurt, his first work for the Kammerspiele der Josefstadt focuses on the works of Tennessee Williams.

(Source: josefstadt.org)