A celebration of everything Tennessee Williams. As a child growing up in Clarksdale the seeds were planted that grew into people and places in his writing. From porch plays to scholarly discussions there is something for every Tennessee Williams fan.
You can reserve for the Thursday 10/16 Delta Dinner Party and the Thursday and Friday 10/16 & 10/17 lunches by contacting the Cutrer Mansion at 662-621-9344 or at cchecassistant@gmail.com or Jen Waller by text at 662-645-3555. See below for details.
You’re Invited!
Please join us in Clarksdale, Mississippi, as we
Celebrate the life and work of
Tennessee Williams
While honoring the people and places that inspired him
This year’s 33rd Annual Mississippi Delta Tennessee Williams Festival (MDTWF) is focusing on Orpheus Descending, a three-act play by Tennessee Williams which was first presented on Broadway in March of 1957. As a rewrite of an earlier play by Williams called Battle of Angels, Orpheus Descending is a modern retelling of the ancient Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. It deals with the power of passion, art, and imagination to redeem and revitalize life, giving it new meaning.
Williams’s statement in the preface of the Orpheus play that “nothing is more precious to anybody than the emotional record of his youth, and you will find the trail of my sleeve-worn heart in this completed play that is now called Orpheus Descending,” tells the audience that he has put his whole heart and soul into this play and perhaps there are some autobiographical references in it, too.
For a festival like ours, set in one of Williams’s most cherished home places, this is so exciting!
It allows us—the attendee, the reader, the spectator, the participant—to explore, learn, connect and experience the great playwright, in the place that he remembered so fondly…CLARKSDALE.
Come join us as we learn more about Tennessee Williams.
Come join us as we celebrate his life and his work.
Come join us as we recognize one of the greatest American playwrights of all time, in the Sanctuary of his Youth.
WATCH THE VIDEO | Tennessee Williams Festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi
The 33rd annual Mississippi Delta Tennessee Williams Festival has a wonderful line-up featuring beautiful performances, distinguished scholars, celebrated actors, robust panels, live music and real Delta culture.
In many ways, we are a small-town festival with big, bold dreams right in the Heart of the Mississippi Delta.
Come celebrate 33 years with us at the Mississippi Delta Tennessee Williams Festival, October 16-19, 2025.