REVIEW | The Glass Menagerie, The Yard Theatre
- Harry Brogan
- Mar 15
- 3 min read
AD | Tickets gifted in exchange of an honest review
CW: This show contains strobe and flashing lights, haze, loud noises and the use of herbal cigarettes. Age Guidance 14+
The Glass Menagerie, directed by Jay Miller at The Yard Theatre, is a dreamlike and visually captivating revival of Tennessee Williams’ iconic memory play. Tom Wingfield (Tom Varey) reflects on his life with his overbearing mother Amanda (Sharon Small) and his delicate sister Laura (Eva Morgan), whose fragility is mirrored in her treasured glass figurines. The arrival of Jim O’Connor (Jad Sayegh), a "gentleman caller," shakes the fragile dynamic of the Wingfield household, setting off a series of quietly devastating events.
Set designer Cécile Trémolières creates an intimate yet surreal environment that feels like a curated art installation. The stage resembles a vintage warehouse, the kind you would expect to find tucked away in Hackney Wick. A small mountain of sand and glass fragments sits beneath a blue vintage chaise longue, which becomes the emotional centrepiece of the action. A huge portrait of the absent father, graffitied on the wall, looms over the stage—a constant reminder of abandonment and longing. Tom repeatedly paints strokes of blue paint across the warehouse walls, perhaps hoping that one day the house will become a fully blue memory—a place where the past is preserved, or even rewritten.
The Glass Menagerie itself descends from above in a breath-taking moment—delicately lit by Lighting Designer Sarah Readman’s atmospheric blue and purple hues. The lighting design shifts between cool blue washes, intimate candlelight, and sharp spotlights, creating a fever-dream quality that constantly reminds us we are inside Tom’s memory. One of the final moments, where the menagerie is illuminated alone on stage, feels like a Madeleine de Proust—a haunting symbol of the past that we can never truly touch again.
Jordan Sherman’s costumes are exquisite and layered with meaning. Laura’s blue-toned dresses evoke freedom and imagination, reinforcing her quiet inner strength despite her outward fragility. Amanda’s dresses and coats are sewn together from two contrasting fabrics, highlighting her dual nature—torn between reality and fantasy, glamour and domesticity. Tom’s knitted trousers, with "mother" stitched across the back, inject humour while reinforcing his inescapable ties to Amanda. Jim’s yellow suit and blue cowboy hat give him a David Lynch-esque quality—at once charming and slightly sinister. Yellow traditionally symbolises warmth and optimism, but also cowardice— foreshadowing Jim’s quiet betrayal of Laura.
The acting is exceptional across the board. Eva Morgan’s Laura is a revelation—delicate, otherworldly, yet somehow the most grounded presence on stage. Her final scene with Jim is heart breaking, her vulnerability laid bare as the glass unicorn shatters. Sharon Small brings unexpected warmth and humour to Amanda, making her more than just an overbearing matriarch. Her camp theatricality and self-delusion make Amanda funny, but never ridiculous.
Tom Varey’s Tom is magnetic—poetic and self-aware, with a quiet desperation beneath his charm. Jad Sayegh’s Jim is disarmingly charismatic, his slow glide into the Wingfield household charged with underlying tension. His scene with Laura is devastating—a fleeting connection that collapses under the weight of reality.
Josh Anio Grigg’s sound design underpins the emotional landscape beautifully. Recurring motifs weave through the action, creating a hypnotic effect that enhances the play’s dreamlike atmosphere. While some modern samples briefly broke the spell, the overall soundscape added emotional texture and subtle dramatic weight.
Jay Miller’s direction is masterful in balancing the tension between memory and reality. The production is visually and emotionally stunning—half-real, half-dreamlike, balancing the past, present, and future in a way that feels timeless. It’s a haunting reminder that memory, like glass, is both beautiful and fragile.
The Glass Menagerie at The Yard is a rare theatrical experience—rich in symbolism, emotionally raw, and visually striking. A magical revival of a classic, brought to life with modern sensitivity and artistic precision.
★★★★
The Glass Menagerie is at The Yard Theatre now until the 10th May 2025
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