Critical acclaim for 'The Glass Menagerie' directed by Genesis Fellow Joe Hill-Gibbins

Following his success directing Martin McDonagh’s celebrated play The Beauty Queen of Leenane earlier this year, Young Vic Genesis Fellow Joe Hill-Gibbins has recently received critical acclaim for his revival of Tennessee Williams’s renowned play, The Glass Menagerie.

The Glass Menagerie premiered in Chicago in 1944 and was acclaimed by critics and audiences alike. The play established Tennessee Williams’s reputation as one of the major American dramatists of his time.

The Glass Menagerie was described by its author as a ‘memory play’ and this is what Genesis Fellow Joe Hill-Gibbins aimed at re-creating in his revival, currently showing at the Young Vic.

Joe Hill-Gibbins’ revival opened last week and you will find some highlights from many fantastic reviews below:

“Joe Hill-Gibbins takes [Tennessee Williams] at his word in this magnificent production, a revival that is as conceptually fresh as it is emotionally devastating.” The Independent ★★★★★

“It is a measure of this sensitive, beautifully pitched revival that it makes you see afresh what a fine playwright Tennessee Williams was. (…) Hill-Gibbins and his cast rise brilliantly to the climactic scenes” Financial Times ★★★★

“Joe Hill-Gibbins’ simple, honest direction and Jeremy Herbert’s design put the remembered family amid fire escapes, gantries and bare brick, accentuating the pathos of domesticity and the brave, gimcrack glitter of the sister’s “glass menagerie”.” The Times ★★★★

“Director Joe Hill-Gibbins and a terrific cast do this beautiful play proud. (…) You leave the theatre in no doubt that you have witnessed a deeply felt, beautifully judged production of a masterpiece.” The Telegraph ★★★★

“That scene is, as it must be, the high point of Joe Hill-Gibbins’s clear and precise production. (…) Hill-Gibbins toys cleverly with the idea of theatricality.” The Evening Standard ★★★★

“As in his recent Young Vic production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Hill-Gibbins is fond of placing actors at the very front of the stage with their backs to the audience during key exchanges, thus shifting the attention to the face of the listener. In this context it’s a successful tactic, creating a connecting thread between the audience and Laura, allowing them to study her face as it relaxes and brightens.” Music OMH ★★★★

More about the Genesis Foundation and the Young Vic is explained in this short film, which shows the progression of the Genesis Directors Network and follows the first Genesis Fellow, Joe Hill-Gibbins as he begins rehearsals for The Glass Menagerie.