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The Night of the Iguana

National Theatre of Northern Greece

The Night of the Iguana
Tennessee Williams

The Night of the Iguana

Directed by Eleni Gkasouka
National Theatre of Northern Greece
Opening Date
28-10-2022

In a far-flung part of Mexico, at the “Costa Verde” Hotel, the property of the widow Maxine Faulk, Shannon, a former priest who is now working as a tour guide, arrives with a group of women from the Quebec Religious College for Girls. Back in the US, Shannon had been accused of seducing underage girls and removed from his duties. A new incident of seduction, this time of a young member of the group, forces him to make a stop at the hotel to regroup: he needs to do everything he can to escape being exposed, pilloried and fired. A victim of his uncontrollable urges once again and on the verge of a nervous breakdown, he meets Hannah at the hotel, a painter who makes a living selling poems and paintings and is travelling with her grandfather, a well-known poet. As Maxine tries to persuade him to stay with her and take over her business, pushing him towards the pleasures of the flesh, Hannah, through her calm and mental serenity, helps him to face himself and overcome his personal deadlock. The Night of the Iguana, one of Tennessee Williams’ three finest plays, returns to the NTNG stage in an excellent translation by Dimitris Dimitriadis, almost thirty years after Andreas Voutsinas directed its Thessaloniki première. The play, which was written in 1961, employs some of the playwright’s favourite motifs: despairing, fragile characters teetering on a knife edge between guilt and pleasure. Immersed in their loneliness, they seek comfort and understanding as they attempt to connect with others. Characters who are tested in an endless and ongoing struggle for acceptance and to reconcile themselves with their dark sides and their demons.

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The Night of the Iguana