A long-lost radio play by the legendary American playwright Tennessee Williams has been published for the first time, casting new light on his formative years. The supernatural horror tale, titled 'The Strangers', was written in 1938 during Williams's college days and has now been unveiled in the latest issue of the literary publication, Strand magazine.
A Spooky Glimpse into a Playwright's Beginnings
Years before he achieved global fame with masterpieces like A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, the young writer—then known as Tom—was crafting short scripts for radio. 'The Strangers' is believed to have had only a single broadcast in 1938 on a rural Iowa radio station as part of a short-lived series called 'Little Theater of the Air'. It was penned as part of his coursework while studying for an English degree at the University of Iowa.
Andrew Gulli, the managing editor of Strand magazine, described the play as a "significant find." He highlighted its classic radio horror elements: "A storm, howling wind, shadows, a house perched over the sea, flickering candles, mysterious footsteps on the stairs, spectral beings…" Gulli also noted the early appearance of themes that would define Williams's later work, such as isolation, fear, and the blurred lines between imagination and reality.
Echoes of a Future Master in a 'Fun and Spooky' Tale
The plot centres on an elderly couple and their spinster houseguest enduring a stormy night on the New England coast. The eerie atmosphere is punctuated by the rotating beam of a nearby lighthouse and the unsettling presence of supernatural entities called "the strangers." Scholars suggest the play leaves listeners questioning whether these beings are real or projections of the characters' deteriorating mental states.
Tom Mitchell, a Williams biographer, commented on the discovery, stating it is significant as one of the many unpublished examples of the writer's early forays into "weird tales, ghost stories, exotic mysteries, science fiction, time travel, etc." He added, "It's a fairly standard scary tale, but it's fun and spooky, and even more fun when read aloud."
Professor John Bak, who analysed the play for Strand, emphasised its prophetic nature. He explained that at the time of writing, Williams was struggling to find work, but this period of failure was fortuitous. "Tom Williams was on his way to becoming Tennessee Williams," Bak wrote. The play's exploration of psychological ambiguity and isolation foreshadowed the core themes of his most enduring works.
Part of a Series of Recent Discoveries
This is not the first unpublished Williams work to surface in recent years. In 2021, Andrew Gulli also uncovered the writer's 1952 short story 'The Summer Woman' in archives at Harvard University. By that later date, Williams was already an established success, having written The Glass Menagerie and situated between his two major triumphs, A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955).
The publication of 'The Strangers' provides a fascinating, albeit limited, window into the stylistic development of one of the 20th century's greatest dramatists. It showcases the raw materials—the atmospheric tension and deep human fears—that he would later refine into Broadway immortality. The script was acquired by Strand from the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
