Foolish Wit Theatre is seeking Expressions of Interest from actors and creatives interested in joining the team for our first season of 2026, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.

• Production week: 26 April to 4 May 2026
• Rehearsals: Tuesday evenings and Sunday afternoons in Milford
• Directed by James Bell
• As with all Foolish Wit Theatre productions, this is a profit-share opportunity.

About the play

The Glass Menagerie is a memory play told through the eyes of Tom Wingfield, looking back on life with his fragile sister Laura and his fiercely determined mother Amanda in their cramped St Louis apartment.

Caught between duty and escape, Tom recalls a household shaped by faded Southern gentility, economic pressure, and unspoken disappointment. When a long-anticipated “gentleman caller” arrives, hopes briefly lift before reality intrudes, exposing the quiet heartbreak, longing, and tenderness at the heart of this intimate portrait of family, responsibility, and the cost of dreams.

Our production will be set in a timeless, sparse environment, reflecting the fragility and subjectivity of Tom’s memories. American accents are not required. Actors will need to be confident with line learning and able to sustain emotionally complex material, particularly in larger roles.

The characters
Ages are suggestions only

Amanda Wingfield
Female, 40+
The matriarch of a crumbling family. Once a Southern belle, Amanda clings to a romanticised vision of her youth rather than accepting her present circumstances of poverty and abandonment.

Tom Wingfield
Male, 20–35
Both narrator and protagonist, Tom tells the story from within his memories. Fettered by his warehouse job and family obligations, he yearns for escape. He writes poetry, goes to the movies, and keeps secrets, all while wrestling with guilt and responsibility.

Laura Wingfield
Female, 18–35
Deeply fragile, both emotionally and physically. Painfully shy, Laura walks with a limp as the result of a childhood illness. Despite this, she does not delude herself about her reality, accepting her limitations without pretending to be someone else.

Jim O’Connor
Male, 25–40
Tom’s co-worker and a former high school acquaintance. Once a golden boy, Jim is now an ordinary, well-meaning man, largely unaware of the darker undercurrents of life.

Express Your Interest