The opportunity to see three short plays by Tennessee Williams in just 50 minutes is hard to resist. Regarded as one of the greatest playwrights in American literature, Williams was known for crafting emotive stories featuring complex, often troubled characters.

Each of the selected one-act plays: At Liberty, Auto-Da-Fe and This Property Is Condemned, explores melancholy stories and characters who feel trapped, suffocated, and forgotten as the world shifts around them.

The actors step into multiple roles for each of the plays: Emma Wright (Mother/Madam Duvenet), Helena Cielak (Gloria/Willie), and Will Manton (Charlie/Eloi/Tom). Their ability to shift seamlessly between such contrasting characters showcases remarkable versatility, with each performance magnetic.

Williams’ words are vivid and evocative, flowing like honey through rich Southern accents. The cast conveys authentic speech thanks to voice and dialect coach Laura Farrell. Meg Anderson’s simple set design, with key props and costumes, slips back in time and sets the plays in the 1930s-1940s —the period in which these plays were originally set.

At Liberty

Bessie (also known as Gloria), a beautiful young woman, returns home after a night out with a beau to find her mother waiting up for her, worrying. When reprimanded, she retorts, “If I didn’t (go out) I’d have to stay in with you”. The two argue, the daughter passionate, desperate, and a little lost. Clinging to dreams of an acting career, Bessie ignores her ailing health. Williams captures her misplaced focus with the line: “The past keeps getting bigger at the future’s expense” —a reminder that her attention is focused on the past, with little consideration for how her present actions might impact.

Auto-Da-Fe

Eloi and his mother sit on their porch making seemingly idle conversation. The oppressive Southern heat can be seen in Mother clutching a white handkerchief and fanning herself. Eloi is prone to bursts of religious fervour; his words shouted like a scripture belter. Williams is known for drawing on his own dysfunctional family in his writing; here we see signs of his puritan upbringing. Eloi rants about the moral decay of the town until he confesses, he came across a risqué photograph, and his internal turmoil becomes apparent. He longs to look at it but also feels compelled to destroy it and is ashamed of his own desire.

This Property Is Condemned

This heartbreaking tale follows Willie, a young girl abandoned by her parents, now living alone in the condemned family property. She plays on the railroad tracks, clinging to a doll, her only friend since her dear sister’s death. Enter Tom with his kite, who has heard about Willie but never met her. As she balances on the tracks (represented here by a ladder), his questions draw out her tragic story and misguided hope for the future.

Directed by Megan Sampson, the dramas are poignant, haunting, and a chance to see Williams’ work brought to life. Not to be missed.

4 stars

Presented by Ground Floor Theatre Company. Three (Short) Plays is playing at the Old Fitz Theatre until 15 August 2025.

For tickets visit Old Fitz Theatre

Keen for more? Check out Betrayal, before the show.

Betrayal (Sport For Jove) | Review