Linda Macdonald was hailed as a star for her performance in HIADS latest production, The Glass Menagerie.

She played the ultra demanding role of the mother, Amanda Wingfield, in Tennessee Williams's classic about the flip side of the American dream. Amanda is every inch a matriarch in the conservative Deep South of the USA. But her home is a dingy apartment not an estate and her children are not beaux and belles, but callow kids, struggling to find an identity in a redneck world.

In the role, Linda was exquisite to behold for her flowing movement and diction, etched with apparently authentic southern drawl. Even more exciting was the way which Linda expressed the complexity of the character. Deserted by her husband, Amanda still felt southern pride, bolstered by memories of her youth, when she was courted by even 18 'gentlemen callers'. How she tried to revive those days through her children, but how impossible this was.

Through her attempts to continue to glow, Linda cleverly expressed tremulous dark moods of despair and angst with expressions and gestures, even the slight flutterings of her sombre dress. How she argued and appealed to her daughter, Laura, to get her act together and bring home some 'gentlemen callers'.

But alas, modest Laura, played with strength and fatalism by Mandy Wood, simply didn't have the equipment, physical or personal, to be a southern belle. In any case mother crushed any show of independence she may have dared to make.

Then there was son Tom, played in another star performance by the tall, slim Peter Griffiths. He was seen as a lifeline who would bring some of his business acquaintances home to meet Laura. Unfortunately, he only had a lowly job in a warehouse and was gloomily aware that his only way to make anything of his life would be to copy his father and leave. Amazingly he did manage to get one of his workmates to 'call'.

This was Jim, Malcolm Bain, who had a slightly better job and was more mature. Malcolm showed his ability to mould a part despite a relatively static acting style. Despite Amanda's gushing attempt to steal the scene, he was steered in the direction of Laura. Amazingly, they did establish a rapport, even edging into something more romantic. Then one of her little glass animals, the menagerie of the title, was broken.

It had to be symbolic, but of what? Was it the shattering of her virginity or the frailty of her illusions? From the nightclub next door the characters were teased by the rhythm of swing and the pulse of a beating heart. In fact, Jim realised this was not a casual visit to a workmate, but something much deeper from which he must escape. Malcolm Bain coolly changed the timbre of the scene. He admitted to having another relationship and departs, leaving the Wingfield family with a gaping wound in their lives and the audience intensely moved.

Director Carl Wood assembled a fine drama with gifted efficiency and the entertainment was perfected by his tidy, focused set and subdued sound.

The show opened with a gala night, attracting mayors and council chairmen from all over Hampshire, plus Havant MP David Willetts. They showered praise on the company. A really charming touch was the green room concert after the show, with singing by Kate Tappy. Proceeds from the evening went to the Havant Mayor's charity fund.

Vic Pierce-Jones

Hayling Islander