Gillian Anderson as Blanche DuBois
As the world slowly moves content online during the Covid-19 pandemic, so to has the world of theater. A number of world famous institutions have started streaming their productions online for a very limited run, including Lincoln Center Theater in New York and the National Theatre in London.
Over the weekend the National Theatre released via their YouTube channel, A Streetcar Named Desire starring Gillian Anderson and Vanessa Kirby, you might remember both actors from their work on TV. Gillian Anderson from her work on X-Files and Vanessa Kirby from her work on the Netflix hit The Crown.
Watching a theater production that was recorded in front of a live audience is always an experience as the audience’s reactions are always audible and in the case of A Streetcar Named Desire, you can also see their reactions, as it is a revolving set and theater in the round so quite a number of times you can see the audience’s faces.
The Benedict Andrews’ production of A Streetcar Named Desire, has modernized the stage play dragging it into the 21st Century. As mentioned there is a revolving stage, stripped back set of an apartment in New Orleans, modern props and techno music and strobe lighting to help with scene changes. A lot of the implied story of the original Tennessee Williams play has been thrust upon the audience leaving little to nothing to the imagination.
The story by Tennessee Williams is about the slow decent of a venerable women who has lost everything as she transcends from a fictitious life to the harsh reality of an individual who is broken, downtrodden and discarded by her family.
The modern take on the classic is interesting to say the least. While the infamous “Stella” scene is more subdue and Stanley is reduced to a crying baby on the floor that needs to be comforted by his mother, not wife. The fight that leads up to that moment is brutal and shocking, there is nothing enjoyable about watching a woman getting punched in the face and hearing her say she thinks her nose is broken!
Gillian Anderson as Blanche Dubois is strong, believable and convincing. The portrayal of the tragic character is endearing and definitely worth watching. The accent at times is a little unbelievable but you barely notice due to the strong performance.
While watching the production there were elements that reminded me of stage plays I had seen in Sydney, Australia. Coincidently it was the loud techno music, strobing lights and stripped back stage that made me wonder if Benedict Andrews was the Director of this production and thanks to Google, yes that turned out to be true. As I had seen many of his productions in Sydney, it was surprising to see that he has tried to leave his mark on this production.
A Streetcar Named Desire was a huge success when it played in London and New York in 2016, but having seen Andrews works many times I could see where he had taken parts from other plays he had directed and tried to insert the same technique into Streetcar. I know numerous people have enjoyed this production but for me, personally, I have seen a lot of these techniques before by him, in other plays years ago. But this performance is worth watching for Gillian and Vanessa’s performance.
A Streetcar Named Desire is currently streaming on the YouTube channel of National Theatre London.
Follow Matt D’Silva on Twitter @MattDSilva
