'Suddenly Last Summer' may not be one of the great Tennessee Willams' best plays, but the intensity, emotional power and boldness that pulsates throughout all of Williams' work are more than evident. The most famous adaptation of it perhaps is the 1959 film with Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor, on its own terms it's very good, despite an uncomfortable-looking Montgomery Clift, and Hepburn and Taylor are powerhouses.
This production is just as good, and one can expect a lot from talent like Maggie Smith (one of my favourites, always has been) and Natasha Richardson (taken from us far too soon). None of the performances are quite as powerhouse as the performances of Hepburn and Taylor, but the spirit of the play is intact, with the boldness of the themes being stronger, and the fidelity in writing is evident too. Thought it smouldered just as much as the film on the whole.
On the whole, the supporting cast are not as good or as well rehearsed as in the film and seem to be strangely underwritten. Richard E. Grant overdoes it a bit here and in hectic mode too often.
At times the early portions of the production could have done with a tightening up, though the omission of the flashbacks do give the production a tauter pace.
However, this production of 'Suddenly Last Summer' does look attractive and evocative, capturing the claustrophobia well. Williams' compellingly real and powerful dialogue (talk heavy but not too rambling) still resonates and the stage direction avoids being static or overly stagy with an emotional climax.
Both Smith and Richardson give scorching though more reserved at the same time (which weren't too inappropriate for the roles) performances, especially Smith who can do little wrong. Rob Lowe is a big improvement over Clift, more sympathetic and much more relaxed.
In summation, very good and well worth tracking down. 8/10