Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams

Summer, 1957.

In a small town deep in the heart of the American South, Lady is suffocating in a loveless marriage. Here, the sweltering air is thick with bigotry, violence, and heart-breaking secrets.

Then- one night- Val blows into town: a young musician with a snake-skin jacket and mysterious past. The fiery romance that ensues ignites a chain of events that exposes the hypocrisy and brutality of the community, with devastating consequences.

Written as a Southern Gothic re-imagining of the Orpheus Myth, Orpheus Descending captures the seething racial and cultural tensions of 1950s America, and provokes us to reflect on our own society’s treatment of “outsiders”.

Featuring Unitec’s Year 2 Acting students directed by Alexandra Whitham. An Amateur Production of Orpheus Descending by special arrangement with Play Bureau and New Zealand Play Bureau Ltd.

Trigger Warning: This play contains some violent and sexual material. Derogatory labels are used by some characters as an expression of their intolerance, which may offend some viewers.