A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE

The Purification

10 Minute Play, Drama  /  2w, 5m, 1girl(s)

Tennessee Williams

A part of the collection 27 Wagons Full of Cotton and Other Plays.

The Purification

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 5m, 1girl(s)
  • Duration
    Duration
    40 minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

In the 19th century American west, a community gathers for a murder trial. As the Judge attempts to hear all sides, the murdered woman appears as she might have been seen. Written in verse.

A part of the collection 27 Wagons Full of Cotton and Other Plays.

History

The Purification premiered at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (formerly known as the Theatre De Lys) in New York City in December 1959 under the direction of Tom Brennan.

Performing Groups
THE JUDGE - An aristocratic rancher of middle age.
THE SON - A youth of twenty, handsome, irrationally tense of feeling.
THE MOTHER - Pure blooded Castillian with iron-gray hair. She is dressed in mourning.
THE FATHER - All nd gaunt, a steady wine drinker. Brooding and slow of movement.
THE RANCHER FROM CASA ROJO - The burnt-out shell of a longing that drove to violence. His blood is coarser than the people of Casa Blanca. But he is a man of dignity and force.
LUISA - An American Indian servant woman. Some Spanish blood. She wears a good deal of jewlery and a brialliant shawl.
AN AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH
A CHORUS OF THREE MEN AND THREE WOMEN - Ranchers.
THE GUITAR PLAYER - He wears a domino and scarlet-lined cape. He sits on a stool beside the wide arched doorway.
ELENA OF THE SPRINGS / THE DESERT ELENA - Two visions of the same charcter, the lost girl.

Plus Chorus

  • Setting

    A bare room.

  • Duration 40 minutes

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £40 per performance plus VAT when applicable.
    This title may have restrictions in place for London based productions. Please submit a licence request to confirm specific availability.

Scripts

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Authors

Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) explored passion with daring honesty and forged a poetic theatre of raw psychological insight that shattered conventional proprieties and transformed the American stage. The autobiographical The Glass Menagerie brought what Mr. Williams called “ ...
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