Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire is a classic American play that opened on Broadway in 1947. It is the story of Blanche DuBois a fading Southern Belle whose life is falling apart. Fleeing her family home she goes to live in New Orleans with her sister Stella and boorish brother-in-law Stanley.
This is a story about love and grief and has themes of violence, homosexuality and alcoholism – heady stuff right? The play has a very dense script and some very famous lines in it such as the immortal “Whoever you are, I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers.”
Not the kind of story, you might think, that would adapt easily to the world of dance. Yet, Scottish Ballet have taken this famous story and created the most riveting piece of ballet I have seen in many years
What’s more, they have removed almost every word from it except for a single one yelled in a fight scene and then later we hear the anguished cries of Stanley calling out his wife’s name several times.
But don’t let a lack of dialogue worry you as it doesn’t matter if you haven’t seen the play or the 1951 film because in this version the incredibly talented cast delivers such meaningful and evocative dance and gestures you can’t possibly miss what’s going on. It is a tale dripping with symbolism and this physical retelling of it is dynamic and captivating.
A challenging aspect for any retelling of A Streetcar Named Desire is the violence that occurs on two occasions – the first between Stanley and Stella and the second between Stanley and Blanche. In this production these scenes, particularly the latter, were delivered with beautifully choreographed physical and symbolic movements that chillingly conveyed the cruelty without being too graphic.
As for the music, the score is simply magnificent with a mixture of styles perfectly attended to the action and expertly delivered by the touring members of the Scottish Ballet Orchestra and by our own Auckland Philharmonia.
The design elements were equally splendid. The costumes immaculately tailored and wonderfully evocative of the late 1940s. Set design was clever and innovative with modular blocks that were reused in numerous ways to create a simple yet vivid sense of each location. Some of these blocks provided a backdrop onto which, in the first scenes, an image of the DuBois family home was projected. I won’t provide a spoiler but the transition from those scenes to the next was electrifying and ingenious. When coupled with sumptuous lighting the entire production had a gorgeous aesthetic.
Scottish Ballet should be rightly proud of their incarnation of A Streetcar Named Desire – they’ve created a sumptuous, flawless and deeply emotional masterpiece that is fresh and exciting.
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
20-23 March 2025
Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre, Auckland
