A Streetcar Named Desire

This 1947 Tennessee Williams classic is very much of its time, made famous by the Marlon Brando, Vivian Leigh 1951 movie but in our age of changing attitudes, with its gritty script is rarely performed on the modern stage, despite being one of the most critically acclaimed plays of the 20th century. A quick search of the NODA website reveals it has only been performed by NODA affiliated societies 8 times in the last 10 years, so it was a real pleasure to visit Leighton Buzzard to see Director John Stone’s adaptation performed.

The set by Mike Ward, Colin Delamore and Phil Pope was staged as completely open and exposed without tabs or sides, flats or walls  but as an open depiction of the Kowalski small cramped New Orleans apartment in a tenement block, using steel frame work and plinths with a wooden frame depicting the doorway off the street into their small crowded living room which also served as their kitchen and dining area with a single day-bed to the rear. There was a plinth reached via a couple of steps up to their bedroom through a curtained doorway with a double bed, a wardrobe moveable screen and a dressing table, with a door to rear for the unseen bathroom. To stage right directly outside the front door was a steel staircase, extensively sat upon by the actors throughout for a lot of the scenes, leading up to the apartment of their landlords Steve and Eunice Hubbell. This was depicted on the top of the steel deck using a table and couple of chairs. The wings to each side of the set were completely exposed and used as the streets for all the comings and goings. The framework of the tenement block was thus cleverly depicted like opening a dolls house in this minimalistic style whilst being extensively furnished internally. It certainly worked extremely well.

The acting in this show was absolutely top draw, accents (as far as I can tell) spot on and the four main characters exceptional. Hannah Williams-Lovell as Blanche DuBois stamped her mark on this production from her first conversation with her sister. The contrast between her perception of what her sister’s relationship with husband, Stanley Kowalski should be and her own fantasy world she portrayed to excuse her own one falling apart was riveting.

Emma Brown as Stella Kowalski was her perfect foil, seemingly content with her domestic life and defending her husband’s, perfectly normal for that period, misogynistic attitude, a woman content with her lot until her sister arrives. Superbly done.

Simon Theodorou as Stanley Kowalski was a class act, his portrayal of the suspicious husband who gradually exposes Blanche’s deceit of lies, his sudden fits of temper and his upright manner of a man of his time with his belief in the Napoleonic Code was memorable stuff.

Ben Dards as Mitch by contrast, was the classic fooled lover, who is out of his depth with the complexity of Blanche’s life, well portrayed as a kindly man bitterly disappointed to discover she is not what she appears.

Newcomer to Leighton Buzzard Drama Group Sarah Ajibade certainly fitted into this superior cast as landlady Eunice Hubbell very well indeed with a very confident performance, well matched to Steven Cotton as her husband Steve Hubbell.

Also, a special mention for making not only his first appearance on the Library Theatre stage but his first ever performance on any stage to Zach Theodorou who played A young Collector. Welcome to the amdram world!

The card scenes between the men, Stanley, Steve, Mitch and Pablo Gonzales (Karl Rachwal) were also very well done giving a taste of relaxed but still gritty street social life in 1940’s New Orleans.

There were a couple of things I didn’t quite follow at first. Abby Clark who pops up twice as a neighbourhood woman I did get, but why is her part as the Nurse bracketed in the programme as Strange Woman and the same for Tony White as the Doctor?  And what was Jan Murray as the Mexican Woman offering in the bowl, although I loved her portrayal of the character speaking in Spanish.

So, congratulations to Director John Stone, his cast and crew, as a piece of theatre this was a very well thought-out production with a very clever set, acting that would not go amiss on any professional stage and very well told version of Williams’ classic story. 

And finally, many thanks as usual to Mike and Barbara Springthorpe for their perfect hospitality. If there was a NODA award for hosts these two would be annually nominated.

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