‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ // Melbourne Theatre Company
‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ was unsettling.
The rattling performance of the Melbourne Theatre Company’s ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ drew you in, then spat you right back out again. Performed at the Melbourne Arts Centre, Playhouse, this production was a phenomenal performance of toxic family and relationship complexities, scandalous secrets and attempting to save the ones you care about most, only to fail and feel like things panned out for the worst anyway. A story where everyone seemed to lose control.
Presented on a rotating two story apartment, the audience watched like a fly on the wall inside the life of a young married couple, the wife’s visiting sister and the neighbors upstairs.
We meet Blanche DuBois, a southern beauty who arrives unexpectedly at her sister’s New Orleans cramped apartment seeking refuge from her past misfortune. Tension soon sets in when Blanche’s arrival sparks discomfort with her brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski. Life turns sour as Stanley’s volatile nature is unveiled, mixed with Blanche’s sassy, flirty and outspoken temperament. The household seesaws between abusive control and falling apart at the seams in a heap of pure aggression.
Written by playwright Tennessee Williams, it was known to be his most popular and critically acclaimed plays of the 20th century. First performed on Broadway in December 1947, this rich piece now re-imagined by Artistic Director Anne-Louise Sarks, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ is a shining beacon of hard-hitting theatre that still holds weighted presence and relevance in the theatre-canon today.
The nature of the show was a lot to take in. It drew you in with real world issues, complex characters, whilst peppered with sarcasm, jokes and relatable family issues. It then rattled you with verbal & physical abuse, alcoholism, rape, men needing to lose their temper to gain control, knocking down the women a peg or two utilizing fear as a control tactic. It made you squirm in your seat knowing that no real effective resolution came into play because every family has secrets, husbands hit their wives, and the women had to keep the peace or pretend that nothing sinister was going on in the first place. Men are hard, brutish and protective… or territorial? Women are chatty, domesticated, hysterical, yet the perfect Madonna. By today’s standards it was a scene of walking red-flags, diluted with clever humor and delusional, gas-lit remarks to make the reality more palatable. In the end it came down to whatever made you sleep easier at night.
The entire play was set in the downstairs portion of Stella and Stanley’s cramped two roomed apartment, which rotated on a massive turntable exposing different sides of the apartment. The set itself was one of the most captivating I’ve seen. With the upstairs portion on display too, it exposed a white room easily changeable to suit the scene. From an audience perspective you almost felt like you were peering into a life size doll house.
Blanche and Stella’s costumes fit their description perfectly for the era. With Blanche’s showy and flirty nature, she donned expensive-looking dresses and jewels while Stella wore simple, demure dresses. In the heat of the New Orleans summer the men changed from their work wear to casual attire depending on the scene. Stanely’s attire altered from his bowling team uniform, work wear, a casual T-Shirt and jeans, or his most comfortable no shirt and a pair of jeans. One costume piece I did notice with Stanley was in the very last scene he wore and all black sleeveless shirt with black jeans. The only time he wore full black. Almost to signify that the bad guy won.
With this re-imagined version of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, the language was at times cryptic or metaphorical. I think without the help of symbolistic lighting, transitions and movement I would have felt a bit lost in the text. You would often see, when Blanche was recalling a past hardship or trauma, a scene playout in the room above the apartment adding more context to her recollection. Purple lighting and black flower petals were seen, which could only symbolize past grief and loss.
With a full cast of ten it was an unsettling yet beautifully executed performance. Nikki Shiels performance as Blanche DuBois was fearless, witty and captivating. With Michelle Lim Davidson (Stella) and Mark Leonard Winter (Stanley) at her side the three were a real toxic trio.
Overall, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ delivered a hard-hitting topic in the most coaxing yet destructive way. You road the highs when times were good and squirmed in your seat when it plummeted to the toxic depths. It was a glimpse into someone’s reality where you couldn’t look away but knew it was never going to end with any winners. Just vulnerable people suffering from the human condition.
‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ performs until August 17, 2024 at the Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse. For more information visit their website.
