A Streetcar Named Desire (Phoenix Theatre, London, Personal)

🌟 A Streetcar Named Desire 🌟

5 April 2023 at 7:30pm at Phoenix Theatre, London

★★★★☆

A Streetcar Named Desire is such a mammoth play for Rebecca Frecknall and the creative team to take on, though it was handled with just the right amount of disturbed passion in a way that reflected Blanche's tormented reality. Set on a wooden platform, we see this small area transformed into Stella and Stanley's Elysian Fields flat, through simplistic scenic changes. But going deeper into the psychological aspects of Williams' play, the lone 'stage within a stage' creates a separated world Blanche finds herself immersed in. Having very recently studied Streetcar for university, I had a lot of expectations ahead of the show. I really like how the original stage directions and conventions of the play were shattered to create a much more flowing and representational piece, though certain elements, for me, left a little to be desire(d).

It absolutely has to be commended how the team had taken such a naturalistic play, but rather than focusing on the grandeur of the set, honed in on a quieter and more claustrophobic atmosphere, delving into what a reader wouldn't typically see in the text. What I enjoyed about the very geometric set was that the square mini-stage acted in resemblance to a boxing ring, that fed off Stanley's primitive masculinity as he defined his territory like an animal. Progressively, the stage becomes littered with the fallout of arguments, trashed furniture etc., which allows the space to be used as a site of violence and domestic disorder.

Following this on, I want to particularly highlight the 3 lead actor's performances. Beginning with Paul Mescal's Stanley, he encapsulated the character's brutish dominance in the tensions of the late 1940s post-war America. His garish characteristics became so wildly frightening, as a disturbingly charming husband, our first impression crumbles. Threats to Stanley's pride in his masculinity provoke a genuinely frightening figure not only for the women of the flat, but to maintain a tense and still, silenced audience. Partnered with his wife Stella (Anjana Vasan), this adaptation brought to life a much stronger side to her character, in comparison to the more submissive tones I gathered from the script. I really enjoyed the dynamic between this couple, with Stella's fieriness acting as a fuel for Stanley's hatred towards Blanche's sensitivity and secrecy. With this production amassing 3 Oliver Awards most recently (2023), it's a shame Patsy Ferran remained the only lead actress without one of these prestigious awards for her hysterical and fleeting representation of the infamous Blanche Dubois. From clips of previous productions, Ferran moved away from a more tired and aged character, to focus more on the frantic juxtaposition of Stanley's hard-headedness, a really engrossing take on the harrowing role. From the quirky humour of Blanche's lines to her vulnerability following her showdown with Stanley, Patsy Ferran really understood the beautiful precisions of acting and defining a role in her own style.

This production of A Streetcar Named Desire was so very nearly there for me. The main thing I wanted to see developed in this production was the imagery of light. The essence of lighting and secrecy is one of the most important themes of the piece, as Blanche wants to escape the reality of fading beauty. Sometimes, I felt the lines between the light being on/off were somewhat undefined, and although the lights can't be turned off, ways to mimic this darkness could've perhaps been emphasised. Abstract sequences, in my opinion, were slightly hit and miss, particularly transitions which saw multicoloured lights border the central stage space in a frantic display of the male transgressive behaviour that frightens Blanche, though felt slightly out of place in contemporary fusion. However, Jabez Sykes' role of Allan Grey (not written in the script) was beautifully stylistic and almost haunting in a way that would disturb Blanche's dreams with its repetition.

The opening vocal collage sadly was difficult to hear alongside the drums, used consistently in the piece. Naturally, being a dominating instrument, they were overpowering when at its loudest volume, though it's crescendo in certain moments really lent itself well to building tensions and howling wind in certain scenes. Because I knew this text so well beforehand it was easy to be slightly more critical, though objectively, slight technical choices infused with contemporary influence didn't entirely suit the style. Though particularly acting led the production with such a gripping script, a celebration of Tennessee Williams. Rebecca Frecknall is a tour de force, taking the West End by storm! I would love to see this production get a longer run beyond its limited season at the Phoenix, for a new generation to experience classic theatre at it's best!

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