SUMMER AND SMOKE

by

TENNESSEE WILLIAMS

DIRECTOR: SUE MOORE

MAIN HOUSE

10 – 20 JUNE, 2026

“So rarely seen, this play by Tennessee Williams feels like a major discovery…..by the end it had me totally in its grip.”

Michael Billington, The Guardian

An intoxicating love story follows Alma, a young puritanical woman from a small town, whose undeclared love for an unpuritanical young neighbouring doctor, John, has driven her into a state of neurosis.

Alma is a singing teacher and the daughter of a minister. She has long been in love with John, the son of a doctor, who has recently returned to his family home following his medical studies. In the oppressive heat of summer, Alma meets John again and her life is turned upside down as she finds herself trapped between desire and the fear of it.

Can these two reconcile their differences, deal with their demons, their different views of the world and find a way to be together?

Written before and after Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams cited Alma as his finest creation. It had a triumphant revival at the Almeida and a West End transfer in 2018 – sold out in both venues and hailed as a masterpiece.

This amateur production of “Summer and Smoke” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd.