BRICK: But how in hell on earth do you imagine that you’re going to have a child by a man that can’t stand you?

MARGARET: That’s a problem that I will have to work out.

Tennessee Williams is one of the giants of twentieth-century drama and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is his Lear. One era is ending, how does the next begin? It’s a portrait of two generations. One doesn’t want to die, and the other one feels  crowded out, confused, and desperate to inherit whatever it can get before it’s too late.

Big Daddy is a magnate. His son Brick is a closeted ex-footballer with a drinking problem. Brick’s wife Maggie is a second-rung society girl measuring her success against all the other families and the number of babies they have. Big Daddy is dying and somehow or other Maggie and Brick have to conceive the next generation…

Simon Stone’s Death of a Salesman was the standout hit of Belvoir’s 2012 Season. He continues his brilliant what-now exploration of the American classics with Tennessee Williams’ magnificent family showdown.

The great Jacqui McKenzie returns to Belvoir (finally!) alongside the great Ewen Leslie.