This is an unusual play, conveying an unusual story. 1998 it was a sensation in theatrical history when The Royal Theatre in London performed Tennessee William’s youth play. The play was written in 1938-39 and was the first play which the author signed with his artist name Tennessee. It was never performed for various reasons. Years after his death Vanessa Redgrave began to look for the play which Tennessee had mentioned in the prologue to ORPHEUS DESCENDING. She found the text among abandoned papers. In 1998 the play finally premiered. The play is based on actual events that had taken place in an American prison in 1938, when a prison warden abused four prisoners to death. In a series of short, crossed scenes we observe life in prison: The warden’s office in contrast to the life of the inmates. A conflict has horrible consequences; the warden loses control over the situation and the tragedy culminates. It is an indignant play, critical of society, describing abuse of power and suppression. Simultaneously, it is a theatrically experimental text which constantly challenges the expression of theatre in a dynamic, modern and fractured narrative style. Despite the violent and serious story, the play contains a great deal of humour.
