The King’s Players – ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Review

It is no surprise that The King’s Players’ production of Tennessee Williams’ controversial masterpiece, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, completely filled each and every seat in the Strand Anatomy Museum this Friday night: as soon as the audience stepped foot inside the usually plain room, they were instantly transported into Stanley and Stella Kowalski’s small New Orleans apartment, where the majority of the play is set. Set designers Sophie Altham and Amy Baker immersed their audience within the peculiar yet powerful set arrangement, as they placed props all around the room, even hanging from the ceiling on washing lines. With an incredible creative team behind a stellar set of actors, the play was set up for success.

The cast’s impressive acting made the audience laugh, fall in love and cry in moments of fear, anger and sadness, as they told the story of Blanche DuBois, a schoolteacher who unexpectedly moves in with her estranged sister Stella and her husband Stanley in a small town in New Orleans, in order to escape her tumultuous life back in Mississippi.

The role of Blanche DuBois, previously acted out by Vivien Leigh in the classic 1951 film adaptation of the play, was  portrayed by the star of the show, Rebecca Lewis, who perfectly channelled DuBois’ famous Southern-belle ways, from her mannerisms, appearance and even her accent. Lewis’ devotion to the character was evident, as her profound emotions resonated with the audience in various moments of the play, causing many who were watching – including myself – to find themselves in a pool of tears more than once.

The heavy nature of the play has often caused it to be the topic of discussion for many critics, as the strong scenes of violence, abuse and of sheer human realness can strike a chord with most of those who watch it – if you make the clever decision of catching this Sunday’s final performance, make sure to bring a pack of tissues with you.

Get your tickets at: https://www.kclsu.org/ents/event/4313/ – if you can’t make it, keep your eyes peeled for The King’s Players’ next production on their Facebook page.

Cast:

Rebecca Lewis as Blanche DuBois

Nick Carter as Stanley Kowalski

Beth Mabin as Stella Kowalski

Dan Thomassen as Harold ‘Mitch’ Mitchell

Evie Ayres-Townshend as Eunice Hubbell

Vincent Fabri as Steve Hubbell

Arsenity Novak as Pablo Gonzales

Maddie Penfold as Heather/Flower Seller/Matron

Adam Walker-Kavanagh as Doctor/Man

Alexander Naile as Young Collector/Sailor

Creative Team:

Director – Sara Malik

Assistant Director – Emily Brown

Producer – Niall Dingle

Set – Sophie Altham and Amy Baker

Costume – Josephine Pruvot-Warrin, Talia Stern and Veronica Victa

Lighting – Annie Chen

Music – Kian Yarand

Photography – Katie Edwards and Lara Peters

Trainee Producer – Joana Furthmann

Dialect Coach – Alys Murray

Makeup Artist – Victoria Jaramillo

Special thanks to the entire King’s Players team for allowing me to review this fantastic play – and photo cred. to photographers Katie Edwards and Lara Peters.