TENNESSEE Williams was once described has the "Dramatist of Lost Souls" - the self appointed champion of the frustrated and defeated.

Such frustration should provide a tension and energy which drives his plays, but there was something missing in this production which seemed to lack pace and kept the audience shuffling in their seats.

Perhaps the missing link in this Williams classic lies in Joe McGann's portrayal of Brick, the archetypal fallen hero.

Brick is a former sports celebrity whose life has been wrecked by the death of his 'best friend' and he has hit the bottle and shuns the attentions of his adoring wife. McGann was either having a night off or was hopelessly mis-directed, but his performance provided none of the necessary tensions to keep the play going and I could not for the life of me understand why his wife Maggie could continue to heap such admiration on him.

Admittedly he was crippled emotionally and physically, but I would have expected to see at least the odd glimpse of the character's former charisma.

Julie Graham on the other hand was excellent as Maggie, showing two sides of a character eaten away by anger and frustration and yet with the bold optimism and confidence, and William Gaunt dominated the second act with his portrayal of Big Daddy, a strong impressive performance.

Perhaps this would have been enough to satisfy the die-hard William's fans, but I can't help feeling they would have come away feeling a little disappointed. Dave Toomer

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