If you have seen the Taylor-Newman classic on film, treat yourself to the stage play in which Tennessee Williams' masterwork is performed in its original version. And if it's your first Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, this potent introduction to drama at its best, laced with Williams' sharp humour and raw emotions, guarantees the start of a lifelong love affair with theatre.
Judging from the reaction of a young group of audience members who were bowled over by the play, it is good to find that there are theatres like the Masque that showcase stalwart must-see classics.
Set in a shuttered bed-sitting room on a Mississippi plantation, it is a play that deals with pertinent and relevant issues: a passionate and fervent young wife trapped in a loveless marriage who yearns to be a mother; an alcoholic husband whose pure friendship with another man turned nasty when others deemed it dirty; the corrupt dishonesty of those who hope to reap wealth from probable inheritance; the sincere devotion of women who suffer emotional abuse; and a family torn apart by secrets.
Clouded by 'death' and shrouded by greed and mendacity, Williams' powerful exploration of the human condition at its most volatile, fragile relationships, pent-up frustrations and latent sexuality explode with solid performances from the ensemble under the no-nonsense direction of Barrie Howard.
Howard allows Williams' text to come to glorious life without imposing himself on it, with his clever set concept (teaming up with Stephan (Fanie) Fourie), allowing the play to breathe.
It's a hellish first act to conquer, but Jennifer Moss as Maggie the Cat, and Rick Harington as her alcoholic husband Brick run though it with such ease and comfort, that it's difficult to believe that it was the opening night.
Moss perfectly captures the essence of a woman trapped in a loveless marriage, whose love for a man she worships is imprisoned by guilt and deceit; it's an honest performance that is heartbreaking as her hopeless desire and urgent outcry for love are dismissed and turns passion into heated fury.
What makes the drama fully come to life, and heightens the tension immensely, is Harington's quiet hostile aggression; his admirable performance breathes life into a character that needs all the love he dismisses, but drowns his emotions in liquor and is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Following his great performance as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee William's A Steetcar Named Desire last year, and now his second commanding performance in another Williams' classic, Harington is a promising young actor to keep an eye out for.
Equally brilliant is Pamela Burger as Big Mama, allowing the passion of her character to explode with raw emotion, well supported by Dennis Benneyworth as Big Daddy, whose rigid supremacy rules the roost.
It's interesting how Williams juxtaposes young passion and worn-out affection, showing how the fate of the 'young' married couple is mirrored in the bitter relationship of a couple who have been married for 40 years.
It's this contrast that makes Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as relevant today as it was when first performed in 1955, winning a Pulitzer Prize.
Add to this the controversial nature of corrupted lives, provocative sexual explorations, and secretive dormant sexual desires, and you have the ingredients of potent drama at its most alluring.
What's great about Williams' crackling text is that he makes us listen, really listen, and through his words the motivated action of the performances truly come alive.
As Williams stated, he wanted to capture "the true quality of experience in a group of people. That cloudy, flickering, evanescent - fiercely charged! - interplay of live human beings in the thundercloud of a common crisis."
Williams has succeeded and his play lives on with this production that should not be missed.
In a world where what we want rules our needs, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof clearly shows that we need to really want what we desire, and how our wishes can ultimately destroy our fantasies. It's exciting theatre, allowing us to journey into the intimate lives of people we know so well, slowly unravelling the mystery to unmask their true natures.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof runs at the Masque Theatre on 25 and 26 September at 8pm, and at 2.30pm and 6.30pm on 27 September. Book through Masque Theatre Bookings on +27 (0)21 788 1898 or az.oc.ertaehteuqsam@sgnikoobliame
Read more about what's happening on stage at www.writingstudio.co.za
