The Kingdom of Earth

A 1968 play by Tennessee Williams, based on a 1942 short story titled Kingdom of Earth The play premièred on Broadway under the title The Seven Descents of Myrtle, produced by David Merrick and directed by José Quintero. After two previews, it opened on March 27, 1968 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and closed to savage reviews after 29 performances. It was thus largely overlooked for many years, but since the mid 1990s it has been revived a couple of times, sometimes to better reviews. In the new millennium it would appear that scholars, critics and theatre practitioners have begun re-evaluating the play to some extent.

The first prodction in South Africa was in 2012 by Abrahamse Meyer Productions in association with Artscape, under the original title, and was directed by Fred Abrahamse, with Anthea Thompson, Marcel Meyer, and Nicholas Dallas. Set and lighting design by Fred Abrahamse, music by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder, costumes by Marcel Meyer.

This production also played to acclaim in the USA during 2012.