Tennessee William’s 1947 play A Streetcar Named Desire has set the stage for many formidable actors over the years, from Marlon Brando and Paul Mescal as brutish Stanley to the formidable Gillian Anderson as untouchable Blanche DuBois. The Royal Lyceum theatre puts a new set of players to the test, and they do not disappoint.
Director Elizabeth Newman crafts this American classic in a refreshingly new light, embracing the chaos of the human condition with emotive speeches and physical tension allowing the dramatic climax to be delivered with exhilarating force.
Blanche DuBois is brought to life by Kirsty Stuart with sweet Southern charisma, clashing provocatively with the claustrophobic lifestyle of Stella and Stanley (played by Nalini Chetty and Matthew Trevannion).
The domestic sphere in which the three interact is crafted on a revolving stage, artistically blurring the private and public sphere and allowing those on stage no escape from one another. Emily James’ inspired set pits the action around a spiral staircase allowing for a constantly changing perspective creating a cat-and-mouse element to Blanche and Stanley’s corrosive feud.
The performance is heightened by Jeanine Byrne’s intelligent lighting that effectively sets the production amid the chaos of downtown 1940s New Orleans, with passing streetcars and dim lamps highlighting the transient nature of Blanche’s arrival.
Matthew Trevannion’s Stanley is brutish and coarse in opposition to façade of delicacy proposed by Kirsty Stuart’s Blanche, crafting the perfect spiralling tension throughout the production. The pairs’ antagonistic chemistry is poignant, indulging the audience with an insight into the tantalising neurosis at play.
Elizabeth Newman had a clear vision for the production which is enacted to the highest degree, the pace only waning slightly ahead of the interval. Tennessee Williams’ timeless classic of mental delusion and physical violence is undeniably as powerful now as it ever has been, if not more so in our current climate of gender based violence.
A Streetcar Named Desire is on at The Royal Lyceum Theatre until 9th November. Tickets available: https://lyceum.org.uk/events/a-streetcar-named-desire
‘A Streetcar Named Desire_Matthew Trevannion as Stanley and Kirsty Stuart as Blanche’ by Fraser Band provided via Royal Lyceum Press release