Adelaide Repertory Theatre & ORiGiN Theatrical Ltd Present CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

Audiences will be transported from wintry Adelaide to steamy southern America when Tennessee Williams' classic play CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF opens at the Arts Theatre from tonight, June 23 to July 2.

Widely regarded as Williams' best play, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF is a masterful exploration of love, lies and family relationships from one of the giants of 20th century drama.

Set in the Mississippi plantation home of wealthy cotton tycoon Big Daddy Pollitt (RUSSELL STARKE), the play examines a southern family in crisis, charting the emotional devastation as their carefully constructed world collapses over the course of a single muggy evening.

Former football star and favourite son Brick (JOSHUA COLDWELL) and his gorgeous wife Maggie "the cat" (ANITA PIPPRELL), along with Brick's brother Gooper (ALAN FITZPATRICK), his wife Mae (NICOLE RUTTY) and their five children, have gathered at the family estate to celebrate Big Daddy's 65th birthday.

But what is supposed to be a celebratory evening soon turns into a night of despair and desperation as secrets are revealed, lies are exposed and the Pollitts' web of deceit slowly unravels.

Veteran South Australian actor Russell Starke heads up the talented cast as Big Daddy, in a triumphant return to the Arts Theatre stage after his critically acclaimed role in The Rep's 2015 comedy Quartet.

"Big Daddy is the most complex character I have ever played, bar none," Starke says.

"Williams' writing gradually reveals multiple, subtle layers of a life which at first glance seems boorish and violent - but all lives conceal secrets."

Director Barry Hill says CAT is "a thinking person's play" that takes the audience on an emotional ride.

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is one of the greatest dramas of the last century; it was Tennessee Williams' favourite of his own plays, and it's one of mine," he says.

"It's more than 60 years old but its themes are still so relevant today, dealing with homosexuality, alcoholism, old age, death and family relationships. It is also a play about mendacity, which is all around us all the time.

"It is a demanding vehicle for actors and I am lucky to have a talented cast who will hopefully wring every nuance from the script."

Mr Hill says audiences familiar with the famous 1958 Elizabeth Taylor film will find new meaning in the stage play, which features a far more nuanced exploration of sexuality.

"Tennessee Williams was reportedly never happy with the film as it removed almost all of the original play's exploration of sexism and homophobia," he says.

"And unlike the film there is no reconciliation between the characters in the stage version, so the audience will be dragged screaming through this one fateful night and have to make their own conclusions as to what happens the next day."

A poignant meditation on death, sex, love, family and deceit, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF is an essential theatrical experience from one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century.

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF runs in a limited season of just eight performances at The Arts Theatre, 53 Angas St Adelaide, from June 23 to July 2, with all tickets $22 or less.

Book at adelaiderep.com or call 8212 5777

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