Big Daddy is dying; the vultures are circling

Maggie the Cat saunters onto the Maidment Theatre stage on July 10 in Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece of secrets and lies, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF.

Sizzling with verbal fireworks, savage humour and sexual friction, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF is a timeless, indelible portrait of a wealthy Mississippi clan.

Surrounded by greedy relatives, over bearing in-laws, hyperactive children “Maggie-the-Cat” and her indifferent husband Brick are forced to confront their uncertain futures as they manoeuvre through a maze of avarice and hypocrisy.

Smoldering with sensuality, audacious characters, and rich in poetic language CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF is one of the enduring classics of twentieth century American drama.

Pulitzer Prize winning dramatist, novelist and poet, Tennessee Williams intended that CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF “snare the truth of human experience”. As in his other great dramas, A STREET CAR NAMED DESIRE and THE GLASS MENAGERIE, Williams explores the conflict between a fading ethos of Southern gentility and a savage modern world in the play. His elegant style enabled him to tackle America’s sexual taboos and conservative social values with shocking frankness. When the play was first staged in 1955 it became a runaway hit and was made into a major feature movie starring Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman.

Auckland Theatre Company’s Artistic Director Colin McColl, who directs the production, has achieved an international reputation for modernizing classics. Recently his production of THE CRUCIBLE by Arthur Miller, won New Zealand Listener Best Production 2007.

 “In updating the play we have set the production in a lush and opulent hotel, where the family gathers for Big Daddy’s birthday celebration. In this transient public environment, beautifully designed by Tony Rabbit, we have a sense that each character could easily be caught out and the family is a house-of-cards about to come tumbling down.”

The large cast of 12 actors features veterans of the New Zealand stage through to new comers. Toni Potter stars as “Maggie-the-Cat”, a desperate housewife trapped in loveless marriage with her athletic but closeted husband “Brick.”  Gareth Reeves steps up once again to play one of contemporary theatre’s iconic roles. Brick is a man grieving for his recently dead best friend, a fellow athlete with whom he had an intimate relationship.

In a casting against type Stuart Devenie plays Southern Patriarch, Big Daddy. “Stuart is a wonderfully tough actor, he’ll at once be both a hard nosed southern landowner and a vulnerable fallen giant who’s death is imminent, in denial about having cancer,” says McColl. Alison Quigan, who is also taking a break from Shortland Street, will play Big Mamma.

Goretti Chadwick, Peter Daube, Jacque Drew, Paul Glover, Michael Keir-Morrissey and Edward Reni complete the cast. Six young actors from across Auckland will play the children on alternate nights.

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF plays at The Maidment Theatre from July 10 until August 2. Bookings can be made at the Maidment Theatre 09 308 2383 or www.atc.co.nz.

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF by TENNESSEE WILLIAMS

Starring: Toni Potter, Gareth Reeves, Alison Quigan, Stuart Devenie, Goretti Chadwick, Peter
Daube, Jacque Drew, Paul Glover, Michael Keir-Morrissey and Edward Peni.
Writer: Tennessee Williams

Direction: Colin McColl
Designers: Tony Rabbit, John Gibson, Nic Smillie
Maidment Theatre, July 10 – August 2
Tuesday - Wednesday 6.30pm, Thursday - Saturday 8.00pm
Monday 14 July, 6.30pm
Matinee Saturday 17 May at 2.00pm
undays 4.00pm
Tickets: $25 - $54 (booking fees apply)

Tags: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof