“A Streetcar Called Desire” at Almeida – Ellen Jones, BHASVIC

In addition to Ferran, Anjana Vasan and Paul Mescal also ensure soulful, charged performances. As one would expect from the brave but submissive Stella, Vasan displays a selfless character, attempting to rescue a family from the rubble that is being handed over to her. Mescal is not only a compelling Stanley, but one we can sympathize with despite his clearly problematic demeanor. This is a production full of characters and situations that are “not black and white”. Just as Williams intended, the audience must ponder who is to blame and why Blanche suffered such a fate.

This is a production charged with themes of male violence, mental illness and of course lust. While the audience shares Stella’s shock when Stanley vandalizes her apartment, Vasan and Mescal’s impassioned performance allows us to understand Stella’s lust overcoming reason. Blanche and Stella are essentially portrayed as sisters who come together in the face of violence but are eventually torn apart by it. Nothing is clearer than Blanche’s instability in this production, and yet director Rebecca Frecknall has created a narrative that still leaves us wondering if perhaps Blanche’s reality is what we should assume, for it seems far kinder than the she is forced to flee. This is particularly evident in the sisters’ discussions of Stanley’s violence – as 21st-century viewers, we may wonder if Blanche was right all along…

Ultimately, this is a modern domestic tragedy that will leave you lingering in the depths of despair long after the curtain has fallen.