Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is one of Tennessee Williams' Pulizer Prize winning masterpieces and conveys his vision of the dark elements that lurk beneath the superficial civilization of the American South. One hot summer night in the house of the Mississippi Delta's richest cotton-planter, a family imprisoned by the past is torn apart by the revelations of lust, greed and envy. The play is drowned in ‘mendacity', a word used by central character Brick to describe the dishonesty in his life and throughout the production there is a feeling of claustrophobia, created expertly by Williams' use of repetition in language.

Richard Baron's production aims to stay true to the original vision of the playwright before what he considered the Broadway bastardisation of his work and with expert casting and stage design this production is well on its way to realising Williams' aspiration to preserve his artistry.

Perhaps the most noticeable thing about this particular production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and certainly what sets it apart from recent productions staged by Baron's contemporaries is its relentless pace and unwillingness to allow the audience to confuse claustrophobia with boredom, or anxiety with discomfort.

This fine ensemble cast all have their own unique take on their characters and delivery of text with Lesley Harcourt as Maggie easily shining in the unenviable task of filling a role made famous by a young Elizabeth Taylor. Equally Dugald Bruce-Lockhart turns in a fine performance as Brick with a skilled understanding of the innate comedy of Williams' work, but it's Christine Absalom's portrayal of Big Mamma that makes the ticket spend all the sweeter with an entrance usually reserved for Pantomime Dames and an emotional and gut-wrenching exit, both and all between beautifully considered and flawlessly delivered.