Young Vic: A Streetcar Named Desire

Charged with relevance in the current political zeitgeist, this (literally) whirling production from director Benedict Andrews puts a new, enticing spin on Tennessee Williams’ modern classic. Filmed at the Young Vic, with their staggering revolving stage, this version recently premiered online as part of the National Theatre's ongoing streaming series. In light of the current situation in America, Andrews has – perhaps unwittingly – given us an exceptionally important treat in a time of uncertainty and anxiety.

Streetcar documents the ill-fated summer visit of Blanche Dubois (Gillian Anderson) to her sister Stella (Vanessa Kirby) at the New Orleans apartment owned by Stella's husband, Stanley Kowalski (Ben Foster). The narrative focuses on Blanche's mental disintegration in what Williams called the ‘New South’; that is, the necessary changes that happened in 1940s New Orleans to replace the outdated, colonial white aristocracy of the ‘Old South’, of which Blanche represents the remnants.

Andrews has made new the time and place, injecting both a present-day set and grunge-rock flavour soundtrack; the narcotised revolving set and removal of walls express the timeless and borderless themes of trauma, power, and ultimate destruction. A clever trick, but it's the star-studded cast that works to propel the narrative to new heights.

A play with a history as rich as Streetcar's will, inevitably, draw comparisons, pitting current actors against those whose big shoes they've had to fill. Yet Vanessa Kirby presents an intrinsically complex Stella with a guttural need for survival. This is balanced with another, equally convincing Kowalski: Ben Foster's Stanley is more reticent than Brando's – more brooding and menacing. But the lack of bark takes nothing away from his bite; his cries for ‘Stellllaaa’ are spine-tingling.

The ultimate praise must lie with Anderson: Her portrayal of the ‘southern belle’ is one of the most extroverted and fresh there's been and – though, at times abrasive, even comedic – she is utterly galvanic in a role she described as leaving her clinging to reality ‘by a thread.’

The downside is, of course, that this production can for the moment only be seen online, and yet the transition onto the screen is seamless. The play is long, over two and a half hours, but oozes and writhes to a feverish climax. It's an imaginative reinvention of a timeless classic, one that, in light of the current, tempestuous world, will surely swirl its way into dramatic legend.

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