A Classic ‘The Glass Menagerie’ comes alive

Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie was beautifully brought to life by the students of St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, under the direction of Professor Arjun Sengupta. This modern take on the classic story of family, dreams, and loneliness captivated the audience at Father Depelchin Auditorium.

Tennessee Williams was a hidden gem whose talents got recognized as an extraordinary actor in the year of 1944 through the play The Glass Menagerie. This play is a perfect porridge of nostalgia, comfort, and hope. Since then, he never turned back and kept on creating masterpieces one after the other.
Recently, this classic was hailed with new voices by the students and faculty from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata (SXC). The production is handwoven with love and sheen perspective by Arjun Sengupta, a professor of the English department of this respected college. The play had a perfect balance of the relevance of current truth with the legendary classic scenario.
Father Depelchin Auditorium was packed with an audience in awe with the splendid performance of the students. The story of Amanda, Tom and Laura was resonated picture perfectly by Josya Mitra, Upamanyu Banerjee and Rashmi Banerjee respectively.
The play’s key plot lines- a single mother struggling to raise her children by putting her creative dreams aside, working as a warehouse worker to feed his family, and a girl seizing self-doubt and insecurity- were a powerful message.
“In a world that is more connected than ever before, people, especially students, are feeling lonely and isolated. I believe the play’s exploration of loneliness and the struggles of fitting in resonated with everyone”, said director Arjun Sengupta.
Mr. Sengupta is appreciated by the constant applause of the audience for his spellbound direction, approaching every character with detailed emotions. “This was one of the first plays I saw 20 years ago, and it left a very deep impression. When I told the management of my desire to stage it in college, they enthusiastically agreed. It’s even more special since a production of this scale has been staged at SXC after nearly 40 years!” his eyes sparkled with a glory of accomplishment.
One of the most impressive aspects was how the Wingfield household of the 1940s felt surprisingly modern. The director revealed that there was an intentional twist of the element’s minimalist setting that pierced into the heart of the audience drawing a blurry line between dream and reality.
This performance embarked on the revival of SXC’s long theatrical tradition. Prof Sengupta bagged quite some fans after this play. Kohana Sarah Mitra, a third-year student of English said after the play “This evening soothed my soul, and I fell in love with Prof. Sengupta’s vision. The lighting, sound, and acting came together, and I didn’t even realise how two hours passed”. The play not only fascinated the present students but the former ones too. “Watching the production felt like stepping back into Prof. Sengupta’s class. It was a perfect balance between the playwright’s vision and the director’s interpretation. My regret of not being born to watch the original performance has now been laid to rest”, giggled Ahana Mukhopadhyay, an alumna of the English department. The management expressed a positive approach towards a fresh storm of theatre at SXC. Bertram Da ‘Silva vice principal of the arts and sciences department at SXC, deserves equal credit for the success of the play as he is the one who helped out the play’s music and lighting. In the end what worked for the play was its soberness, simplicity, and hard work of months. “This auditorium played a crucial role in the thriving culture of English theatre in the city, staging the best plays by Shakespeare, Chekhov, and George Bernard Shaw. Today’s performance was a revival of SXC’s long theatrical tradition,” signed off Rev Dr Dominic Savio, SJ, principal, SXC.

News and picture sources- The Telegraph