Heart of glass

FRAGILE BEAUTY: Cast as the mentally fragile Laura Wingfield in the Dinna Myers-directed production of Tennessee Williams' lyrical evocation of loneliness and lost love, The Glass Menagerie, actor Scarlett Fawcett's character creates a world of her own in her collection of glass figurines that includes a single, fragile, unicorn.Picture supplied

A psycho-killer's girlfriend, an enthusiastic farmhand, and a confident Southern bride-to-be are among characters Scarlett Fawcett has previously played but her role in an upcoming production of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie is one of the most challenging, says the actor.

Cast as Laura Wingfield in Evolution Theatre Company's production of Williams' semi-autobiographical play, Fawcett plays narrator/character Tom Wingfield's elder sister.

A bout of pleurosis has left Laura with a limp and a mental fragility that isolates her from the outside world.

In her collection of glass figurines she has created a world of her own. Among the figurines is a single, delicate, glass unicorn.

The glass unicorn is the story is Laura, says Fawcett. “They're one and the same.

“Laura is different from other characters I've played before. She's introverted, she lives in her own little world. She doesn't speak much, she doesn't have big explosive moments. There's a lot of internal work. It's an interesting challenge.”

Like Williams, Laura's brother wants to escape his suffocating environment and become a writer. But, like Williams, he feels much guilt about the prospect of leaving Laura and invites a workmate, Jim O'Connor, home to meet her.

A “plain person”, Jim is no prize except in Laura's mind and she begins to come out of her shell.

“Laura has a big journey and goes through dramatic shifts,” says Fawcett.

Tom is her protector and is integral to how events play out for Laura.

To learn her lines, Fawcett writes them out and speaks them as she writes. By writing out her lines she closely reads other characters' dialogue at the same time.

“I practise the intonation over and over. The way you first read the lines is usually not the way they end up in the show.”

The Glass Menagerie is an ensemble work. There is no main character, no hero, and while Laura is as significant a character as the rest in Williams' play, Fawcett's love of theatre means she isn't fussed whether she is given a big or small role. It's all theatre.

“It's something I really enjoy doing. You become almost a family with the people you work with. Playing a character is always fun. It's a lovely thing to do and The Glass Menagerie is a beautiful play.

“It's sad but beautiful.”

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Evolution Theatre Company, 75 Disraeli St, July 1 — July 11. Book at trybooking.com via this shortcut https://tinyurl.com/ebwjt292