Royal Lyceum Edinburgh
What a pleasure to see a production without gimmicks.
A Streetcar Named Desire has not been re-interpreted, re-imagined or re-located in this version, directed by Elizabeth Newman.
Instead, we are transported to the stifling atmosphere of post-war America – and allowed to enjoy Tennessee Williams’ 1947 masterpiece in all its glory.
The action takes place around a spiral staircase, which twirls around to reveal different perspectives on the two-room apartment shared by Stella and Stanley Kowalski.
Into this tight domestic space flies the whirlwind who is Blanche DuBois – a jittery, unstable but imaginative dreamer, destined to send this little world into disarray.
Kirsty Stuart as Blanche is tremendous. Maddening yet likeable, mischievous, unwise but full of lyrical insight. Stuart makes beautiful work of Williams’ language – while revelling in the irrepressible spirit and sensuality of this woman who will not be contained.
Mathew Trevannion is smoulderingly furious as Stanley Kowalski, needled and provoked by his sister in law’s intelligence and her lies. And Nalini Chetty is sweet and sympathetic as Stella – the sister impossibly torn between her husband and her sister.
As Blanche unravels, Kowalski rages and Stella lapses into despair, we discover the tensions and the violence which lurk below the surface. The metal staircase whirls wildly, discordant jazz plays in the distance and street scenes almost out of view, suggest a frightening and unstable outside world.
The ingenious set by Emily James, artful music and sound by Pippa Murphy and imaginative lighting by Jeanine Byrne all work beautifully together to create the claustrophobic heat of the New Orleans night as the pressure and madness builds.
We are with Blanche in her mental disintegration – and ultimately we are on her side. Although she is the loser in this tale, Tennessee Williams gives his most famous creation such an irresistible life force that we identify with her and hate the society that wants to extinguish her.
When, in the play’s final moments, Blanche leaves the stage, we feel deflated. Life in the Kowalski apartment suddenly seems unspeakably mundane and we yearn to be reunited with the wild adventurous spirit of Blanche DuBois.
A Streetcar Named Desire is at the Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh until November 9
https://lyceum.org.uk/events/a-streetcar-named-desire
