Reviews: The Glass Menagerie
Mike Smith, Art Scene in Wales
At the end of Theatr Pena’s crystalline presentation of The Glass Menagerie I was left with a feeling of deep sadness, such was the poignancy of the four actors’ utterly absorbing portrayal of Tennessee Williams’ incision into memory.
Rosamund Shelley negotiates the fine line between being the insufferable domineering witch and tragic devoted mother and abandoned wife, you can almost smells the southern air, the bunches of jonquils and even a slight odour of moth balls on her faintly ridiculous ball gown.
This is a sparkling addition to Theatr Pena’s diverse work and a reminder of the power of live performance to uniquely affect us.
This review in full is published at Art Scene in Wales
Michael Kelligam, Theatre in Wales
Rosamund Shelley gives this faded Southern Belle a gentle obsessiveness, a yearning hopefulness that really gets under the fingernails of her children and at times under ours in the audience. The strength of character and the strength of the performance are totally captivating.
This review in full is published at Theatre in Wales
Othniel Smith, British Theatre Guide
Rosamund Shelley’s Amanda is barely maintaining her morale, constantly spinning self-aggrandising tales from her youth as a Southern belle.
This review in full is published at British Theatre Guide
Dailypost, Eryl Crump
Rosamund Shelley plays the overbearing parent perfectly.
This review in full is published at The Daily Post
Steve Stratford Reviews
Shelley is at her best in Act 2 when she welcomes Jim into the household for dinner and assaults him with a wall of pleasantries and reminiscences about her much-missed youth before her guest has barely said a word. It is obvious that her attempt to set up Laura and Jim is simply her trying to recreate her own past. Yes, she wants what's best for her daughter, but just as much she wants to witness those feelings of being wanted and desired all over again, by proxy if need be. Shelley is wonderful in these scenes where she wanders backwards and forwards through her memories, her breathless enthusiasm and gaiety bringing the character out to the fore. Before this, I felt I was only being told what Amanda felt, but with these later scenes you really get to see and feel her heartache and yearning. A performance which increases in stature as the play progresses, culminating in her explosive rejection of her son simply because her own web of intrigue has come unspun.
This review in full is published at Steve Stratford Reviews
