The Two-Character Play (Out Cry) by Tennessee Williams

Overview

Felice and Clare are a brother and sister performing act who arrive at a decrepit “state theater in a state of unknown” and find themselves deserted by their troupe. Faced (perhaps) by an audience expecting a performance, they enact “The Two-Character Play” as their outcry from isolation, panic and fear – a Southern Gothic affair in which they spend their lives as prisoners in the rotting house where their parents met a bloody and melodramatic end. As they dip in and out of performance, they find it difficult to differentiate themselves from their roles and reality from illusion.

In a 1971 interview, Tennessee Williams said of The Two-Character Play, “I wrote it when I was approaching a mental breakdown and rewrote it after my alleged recovery. I was thoroughly freaked out…I think it is my most beautiful play since Streetcar, and I’ve never stopped working on it… it is a cri de coeur, but then all creative work, all life, in a sense is a cri de coeur.”

“…a rarely-seen fever dream…an eternal folie à deux…they don’t just strike sparks.
They’re a raging conflagration that keeps changing form and direction.
Low on plot and high on poetry, it presents the painful spectacle of a talented, desperate mind chasing itself in circles.”–Ben Brantley, The New York Times

★★★★ ‘A profound delight. Funny and absurd.’ –Independent
★★★★ ‘…fine, intelligent production… celebrates the radical streak in Williams’s work’ –Financial Times
★★★★ ‘Sam Yates’ staging uses modern theatrical wizardry to restore the mould-breaking power of Tennessee Williams’ most daring play’ –Evening Standard
★★★★ ‘A real discovery in a very rare outing of this Tennessee Williams play.’ –Daily Express
‘A heartfelt and haunting celebration of the theatrical. Stunning and profound.’ –Exeunt Magazine

The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium

The IRC’s Mission is to bring classic absurdist theatre to international audience in the Philadelphia region. These rarely-produced, renowned plays explore and illuminate the human purpose and meaning, promoting reflection about the human condition in a contemporary world. Our dedicated group of artists invites you to explore with us these questions and share the word with friends; since 2006, a loyal IRC audience has been built largely through word of mouth.

Credits

Felice: John Zak, Clare: Tina Brock, Costume Design: Millie Hiibel, Lighting Design: Shannon Zura, Set Design: Dirk Durossette, Sound Design: Christopher Mark Colucci, Stage Management: Juliet Dempsey, Direction: Tina Brock, John Zak and Peggy Mecham