Writer: Tennessee Williams
Director: Cathal Cleary
Tennessee Williams called the Streetcar the ideal metaphor for the human condition, he used the real streetcar in New Orleans to highlight the power of desire as a driving force behind characters actions. The play conveys a sharp critique of the way institutions and attitudes in post war America placed restrictions on women’s lives and dependence on men for sustenance and happiness.
The plot revolves around Blanche DuBois who comes to live with her sister Stella and her husband Stanley Kowalski . Blanche faces harsh reality in the grim barren setting of her sister’s apartment in a tenement in New Orleans. Blanche, played by Evan Gaffney, constantly works through trauma brought on by the loss of the family plantation ‘Belle Rive’[ Beautiful Dream] in Mississippi, and the subsequent loss of her role in society. Gaffney captures beautifully in her line “I don’t want realism I want magic” the shattering and fragmentation of the self.
Stanley Kowalski, played by Jack Meade, is threatened by Blanche’s presence because she belongs to a different class. The threat becomes more sinister when he realises that Stella is influenced by her sister. Meade constructs superbly a man who sits, walks, strides with animalistic vigour, revealing his inner state of mind; a man consumed with violence and a possessive ownership of his living space.
For this style of production – the director Cathal Cleary has chosen ‘a thrust stage’. The chief characteristic of a thrust stage is that it thrusts the performers into the midst of the audience around them, emphasising the characters rather than the scenery. This choice works really well because it establishes the idea in our perception that there are no boundaries between outside reality and inside the home. The action outside on the street and around the tenement parallels the interior of the home. Characters enter and exit bringing their problems with them; reinforcing Tennessee Williams’ exposition of the plot – that the Kowalski’s home is not a sanctuary.
The lighting design by Stephen Dodd is very effective at blending the textures of the bare space and the figures of the actors. A red paper lantern instituted by Blanche on her arrival covers a bare lightbulb and acts as a symbol of the fantasy world inhabited by Blanche; it also mirrors the violence which erupts sporadically in the play.
Staging effectiveness depends on everything that appears on the stage. Here is where I feel that a little more could be added to capture consistency in keeping with Blanche’s character. Maree Kearns set and costume design could perhaps add a touch of glamour to Blanche’s costume to convey a decaying lady with coquettish behaviour who relies on the approval of men to enhance her self-esteem. Blanche’s dress floats and is perfect for the period, but it needs a little more colour to highlight her character amidst the drab surroundings.
Gestures on stage add weight and meaning to the script. At one point Stella gestures to a bare space and alludes to the fact that Blanche has brought some changes to the apartment since her arrival. This was an important moment in the play and a forerunner to the imminent violence from an irritated Stanley who grows more desperate to rid himself of Blanche. When Stella gestures to the space we don’t see even the slightest of change on set which could be conveyed by a minimalistic swathe of fabric, a decadent cushion, or a delicate ornament to show Blanche’s influence on her sister and intrusion in the Kowalski world.
The theme of the play could be enhanced by the occasional punctuation of the Streetcar at certain points as a background, reminding us of the driving force propelling the action forward and intruding on the lives of the characters.
These are minor points, in an overall memorable production by Cathal Cleary Theatre Company in association with Once Off Productions.
Runs Until 21st Dec 2024.