For the first time in two decades, Melbourne Theatre Company will present Tennessee Williams’s long-enduring masterpiece, The Glass Menagerie, at the Southbank Theatre, The Sumner.
A poetic and heartbreaking portrait of a languishing family and the fragile illusions we cling to in order to survive, The Glass Menagerie centres on Amanda Wingfield, a hopeful yet overbearing mother who desperately clings to the past while trying to control the future.
As she strives to secure stability for her daughter Laura, her son Tom, yearning for freedom, teeters between obligation and escape. When a much-longed-for ‘gentleman caller’ steps into their world, he may be the fulfilment of Amanda’s dreams, or the blow that shatters her carefully constructed illusion.
Directed by Melbourne Theatre Company Associate Artist Mark Wilson ( Jacky, Much Ado About Nothing), celebrated stage and screen actor Alison Whyte (Death of a Salesman) makes a much-anticipated return to the Company to take on one of the greatest roles in the theatrical canon, Amanda Wingfield.
Whyte is joined by Tim Draxl (The Normal Heart, STC) as Tom, Millie Donaldson (Boy Swallows Universe, Netflix) as Laura and Harry McGee (How The King Learned To Live Forever, Pummel Squad) as The Gentleman Caller.
“Returning to a classic play in the present day is always a fascinating endeavour,” said Melbourne Theatre Company’s Chief Executive Officer & Artistic Director, Anne-Louise Sarks.
“Director Mark Wilson’s The Glass Menagerie is no different, bringing forward elements of the work that have often been softened, only hinted at or obscured altogether – while retaining plenty of Tennessee Williams’ trademark humour and drama.”
“Through a contemporary approach, attuned to its queer undercurrents and its portrayal of disability, this production draws out the tensions that sit just beneath the surface of his writing.”
“Crucially, these perspectives are not only conceptual, but embodied: the presence of queer and disabled artists within the cast and creative team brings a lived experience that reshapes how the play is realised on stage,” said Sarks..
Winner of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play in 1945 and recipient of the first-ever Tony Award for Best Play revival, this sharp and poignant new production of a timeless masterpiece is an experience you cannot miss.
Director: Mark Wilson | Featuring: Millie Donaldson, Tim Draxl, Harry McGee, Alison Whyte | Set Designer: Kat Chan | Costume Designer: Matilda Woodroofe | Lighting Designer: Paul Lim | Composer & Sound Designer: Marco Cher | Voice & Dialect Coach: Geraldine Cook-Dafner | Assistant Director: Jamila Main | Intimacy Coordinator: Amy Cater | Stage Manager: Jess Keepence | Assistant Stage Manager: Zsuzsa Gaynor Mihaly
The Glass Menagerie
Southbank Theatre, The Sumner, Southbank Boulevard, Southbank
Season: 1 May – 5 June 2026 (previews: 27 – 30 April)
Information and Bookings: www.mtc.com.au
Following the Melbourne season, The Glass Menagerie will be presented at the Geelong Arts Centre from 11 – 13 June 2026.
Image: Alison Whyte stars in The Glass Menagerie – photo by Jo Duck