IN THE BAR OF A TOKYO HOTEL Charing Cross Theatre

Tennessee Williams’ heyday was the 1950’s and he had been long out of fashion with the public and the critics when he wrote In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel, a highly autobiographical piece about the humiliating and unavoidable doom of an artist long past his sell-by date. The reception at the premiere in 1969 was bad. Even his mother said it was time he found another occupation. The production ran for only 23 performances. The present revival struggles to make it work for today’s audiences.