Pure magic

11:52am Tuesday 15th April 2008

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The Glass Menagerie, The Royal Exchange Theatre, 5 out of 5

CAN somebody please answer the following question - just what do actors have to do to get a standing ovation these days?

I was sorely tempted to pay my own one man tribute when the Royal Exchange Theatre's flawlessly brilliant production of The Glass Menagerie came to an end.

After all, that's how they start Mexican waves. Maybe my enthusiasm would have rubbed off on my fellow audience members, who had sat similarly transfixed by this classic play. But we critics are supposed to keep our emotions under wraps and I decided to be professional about it, clapping until my hands nearly dropped off instead.

Many of you have probably heard the phrase "fantsy football" - this is "fantasy" theatre. You really find yourself believing in and caring about the characters and you also hang on every word of Tennesse Williams' exquisitely evocative script. Some of the lines are just so darn good you greet them with disbelief and there are times when Williams doesn't simply tug at your heart strings. It seems like he's trying to pull them out completely.

For anyone who doesn't know the play, it homes in on the home life of a fatherless family in America in the 1930s. The Wingfield clan is made up of mother Amanda, a fading flower of a woman constantly interfering in the life of her son, Tom. She's totally embarrassing at times but she means well, bless her. No wonder Tom, who amazingly has a full head of hair, is constantly escaping to the movies. The most vulnerable character is Laura, Tom's slightly disabled sister who is painfully self conscious and aching for a husband. She hides away from the world, turning to crackly old gramophone records and her collection of glass animals, the glass menagerie of the title, for comfort and companionship. But is Laura's luck finally changing when a "gentleman caller" comes to dinner?

Director Braham Murray has a dream ensemble in the shape of Brenda Blethyn (Amanda), Mark Arends (Tom), Emma Hamilton (Laura) and Andrew Langtree (Jim O'Connor) and the end result is an evening that is truly magical. Even writing about it gives me goose pimples. Unmissable.

Rick Bowen * Until May 24. The box office is on 0161 833 9833.