A Streetcar named desire
A Streetcar named desire is a play written by Tennessee Williams which depicts the experiences of Blanche Dubois a woman who, after facing a series of personal issues, leaves her wealthy background and moves into a shabby apartment in New Orleans to live with her younger sister Stella and brother-in-law Stanley. Blanche laments about the shabby condition of her sister's two-room flat. She finds Stanley rough and disgusting and he dislikes her presence. Blanche is a young widow which often makes her distressed.
Later Blanche started having an affair with Mitch one of Stanley’s poker player friends. In between Blanche started noticing the toxic relationship between Stella and Stanley as he always strikes and torture Stella when he is drunk and comforts her later. Blanche is baffled that Stella would always go back to her abusive husband. Stanley started gossiping about Blanche that she was fired from her teaching job for involvement with an under-aged student and she eventually confesses that the stories are true and it’s not just rumoured. After her confession, Mitch rejects her out of anger.
As Stella went to the hospital to give birth, Blanche and Stanley were alone at the apartment and she descended into a fantasy in which an old suitor of hers is coming home to provide financial aid and to take her away from New Orleans. Initially, Stanley went along with the act and eventually mocked Blanche's behaviour and in response, she threatens to attack him with a broken bottle. Later she collapses on the floor and Stanley is last seen taking unconscious Blanche into his bed.
At the Kowalski apartment, Stella and her neighbour Eunice, are packing Blanche’s belongings. Although Blanche has told Stella about Stanley’s assault, Stella cannot bring herself to believe her sister’s story. Blanche collapses in confusion when a doctor arrives to take her to the hospital. Mitch breaks down in tears and the doctor helps Blanche up and she willingly goes with him saying that she has always depended upon the kindness of strangers. The play ends with Stanley comforting and crying, Stella.
Blanche’s character was very moving from the very beginning of the play. Her concluding statement “I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers.” strikes you at a different level and all she wanted was little kindness and love. Blanche portrayed a deep and complex character with incredible performance. She depicted a sweet, fragile, vulnerable and tragic character. The play is full of pith, honesty and insight into the human condition. The play is about desires and how it shapes one’s views on right and wrong.
The acting of Blanche and Stanley seems very raw and intense providing an emotional rollercoaster for the viewers. At the same time, all the characters were very complex and real. It is a timeless story with a lot of relevance even in this twenty-first century where we can come across many vulnerable Blanche, abusive Stanley, and women in toxic relationships like Stella. In the end, we can see that even after knowing the truths about her husband Stella still went back with Stanley and gave consent to send Blanche to an asylum which reveals different layers of the wicked human mind and behaviours.
The play was successful in showing the fall of mankind through Blanche's life as she falls from the top level of society to an asylum. The conflict rises when Blanche’s emotional turmoil heightens and it arrests the viewer at many points. The characterization seems very detailed and effective as it was very evident in the performance. It has a lot of dramatic shifts and exposes viewers to the nature of tragic human realities.
The stage setting was complimentary with the plot, as it was arranged in a bleak and minimal manner just like the Kowalski apartment. The stage prop was constant from the beginning to the end and there wasn’t much change in the stage setting. The director has brilliantly manipulated each scene realistically with the bleak Kowalski apartment. Actors have extensively used the stage space as well. The lighting played a major role in the play in enhancing the performance. Yellow-toned lighting is used which brightened the costume, makeup and scenery. The sudden shifts from daylight to night as per the scenes were very impressive. Stanley’s violence was often shown in a sombre and unsettling ambience.
As the play is full of strong emotions, the costume was very much guiding the characterization and it helped the viewers to fully immerse in the represented time period. For example, Blanche was styled in delicate fluttery outfits throughout the play While Stanley’s clothes were tight t-shirts and pants symbolizing a rough and loud man. On other hand, Mitch’s costume was much more polished than Stanley’s as he is a rather soft and sensitive person. Stella is a carefree and domestic personality unlike her sister and the outfit was very casual which almost amplified her personality.
