The Beast's Pen

No-one writes ladies who have passed their prime better than Tennessee Williams and Kim Cattrall is perfect as a faded Hollywood star running away from her failures in this bitter-tasting lament to lost youth. However, it is the young Broadway actor Seth Numrich who steals the show here; he is brilliant as a deluded loser returning in faked triumph to his home town in America’s Deep South, only to be confronted by his past. These two  characters wield whatever power they can muster to manipulate and use each other for their own selfish ends, both having already pushed the self-destruct button. Marianne Elliott’s production is beautiful to look at and superbly acted all round; it drags occasionally in a sometimes static first half, but sizzles throughout the second and creates a memorable overall impression.