TENNESSEE WILLIAMS: PORTRAIT OF A GAY ICON is Coming to Old Diorama Arts Centre and More

Tennessee Williams: Portrait of a Gay Icon is a one man play about the playwright Tennessee Williams. The production will be presented on Wednesday, August 20 at 7:00 pm at Old Diorama Arts Centre, Regents Place. The show will also be presented Saturday, August 23 at 7:00 pm at The Audition House.

After a sold-out run at the historic American Theatre of Actors in New York, this one-man exploration of the private life of one of the 20th century's greatest authors travels to London for a limited run. The play will be part of the Camden Fringe

PLOT: Williams is chatting with "old friends" in his home and becomes increasingly inebriated during the course of the visit. The author launches into myriad diatribes about life, love -- or the lack and abuse of it, his viciously cruel father, his sister -- who received the brunt of that cruelty, and his work in the theatre -- or more likely -- his work with actors. The play had a wildly successful try-out in San Antonio, TX; a sold-out run Off-Broadway (NYC) and now, arrives here in London with John Stillwaggon returning to the role of Tennessee Williams.

John Stillwaggon has been a member of the professional theatrical community for more than a dozen years. His credits include Off & Off-Off-Broadway theater as well as national tours with the Magik Theater. In 2011, ReviewFix named him "one of the top 10 off-off B'way professionals in New York City." Stillwaggon's acumen runs the gamut from classical (the titular role in Shakepspare's Hamlet and Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet) to new works like Christina Hemphill's A Symphony for Portland (off-B'way premiere).

Playwright Bernard J. Taylor has had more than 100 worldwide productions of his shows - musicals and non-musical plays - in more than a dozen countries. His early works were chronicled in the Encyclopedia of Film and Stage Music. In 2013, he was made an Honorary Fellow by the Victoria College of Music and Drama for "services to music and the performing arts." Recent years have been the most prolific creative period he has known. Six productions of his stage works in San Antonio won eleven awards at the 2015, 2016 and 2017 ATAC awards (San Antonio's version of New York's Tony Awards).

Award-winning director, Angie Kristic, founder and Artistic Director of The KBO Theatre Company has been invited back to The Camden Fringe Festival in London, England to present three new plays, "Tennessee Williams: Portrait of A Gay Icon", "Music Between Us" and "The Dealers " (playwright). She serves as co-producer of Tennessee Williams and producer of the latter two under her theatre company, directing as well, featuring John Stillwaggon in all three and Will Barton (West End's "The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson). All will be presented inNYC prior to the London run as staged readings on Aug 24th at the new theatre, Arches Lane, in Battersea.