A house of lies falls on screen

In the world of the theatre there are some playwrights and some plays that change the course of how the stage is used, how different elements, such as music and light, can be used to create a mood and how some subjects are brought to the surface. One such playwright is Tennesse Williams and the play that did it all is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

The Rialto Theatre in Limassol and the THOC theatre in Nicosia will remind us of this Pulitzer Prize winning drama with a screening from the National Theatre series. The play, directed by Benedict Andrews, was performed for a strictly limited season in London’s West End in 2017. It stars Sienna Miller, Jack O’Connell and Colm Meaney.

According to the Sunday Times, this production of the play is “a bold reimagining. Innovative and powerfully acted,” while the Independent rated it as “a brilliant, lacerating account of the play… unforgettable.”

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is said to be Williams’ personal favourite. It is set in the plantation home of Big Daddy Pollitt, a wealthy cotton tycoon, in Mississippi. The family gather around to celebrate Big Daddy’s birthday. The scorching heat is almost as oppressive as the lies they tell. Brick (Big Daddy’s son) and Maggie (Brick’s wife) dance round the secrets and sexual tensions that threaten to destroy their marriage. With the future of the family at stake, which version of the truth is real – and which will win out?

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Screening of a performance of the play at London’s West end. April 3. Rialto Theatre, Limassol and THOC, Nicosia. 8.30pm. €7/10. With Greek and English subtitles. Tel: 77-777745, 77-772717

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