Playwright Tennessee Williams called for a state theater as the only remedy for the ills besetting the American stage, yesterday, before an audience of ticket-holders to the Harvard Dramatic Club's production of "An Enemy of the People."

The prize winning author, whose latest work, "A Street Car Called Desire," opened at the Wilbur Monday, told his New Lecture Hall audience that a federal theater has as much, if not more value to this country than schools and museums.

Stage Costs High

Williams cited two factors as the chief obstacles in the way of drama in this country: the high cost of production, and what he termed the "Broadway bottleneck." He contrasted his newest play and its $100 thousand expenses to what a similar production would cost in Europe--$5 thousand.

"Broadway has a stagnating effect on American drama," Williams declared, calling the experimental work done by Margo Jones in Dallas, Texas, "stimulating" and "extraordinary."

Existentialism, the European theater, an American complacency all came in for discussion in Williams' address. He declared that existentialism is nothing new, but that what is important is "that a whole continent could be jolted into grasping such a philosophy. The European theater has shown a hunger and a spirit that is lacking on the American stage," Williams concluded.