Paul Mescal and Patsy Ferran Electrify In A Streetcar Named Desire
Photo Courtesy: Mark Brennar
*Contains minor spoilers
Tenessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play is a story centred around Blanche DuBois, a former Southern Belle who moves in with her younger sister and brother-in-law in New Orleans. It is a play about the consequences of unrestrained desire, within which is a striking exploration of the complex bond of sisterhood.
The best known stage adaptation of the classic play features a powerful performance by Gillian Anderson, who you may recognise as Otis’ mum in Sex Education. That adaptation had all the amped up staging and drama reflective of such a prolific actor, whereas Rebecca Frecknall’s production at the Almeida theatre strips the play right to its core. The stage is laid practically bare, save for a few crucial props such as Blanche’s suitcase. In this way, the supporting actors become props themselves, which is made clear when they dance and mime in slow motion. It is this minimalism that makes the aural addition of fervent drumming and a haunting melody all the more taut and sensual, allowing the actors to lay their characters’ desires bare - the pivotal downpour of rain intensifies the drama even more.
Flighty yet commanding, Patsy Ferran brilliantly captivates the audience, infusing a certain neurotic humour into the haunted Blanche and exuding a prim but flirtatious false confidence that could only belong to a faded Southern Belle. Ferran leaves the audience to grapple with an imperfect female character: Blanche is desperately needy and ashamed of her crimes, but fiercely protective of her sister Stella all the same, and is unafraid to scold Stanley for his abuse. In fact, Ferran’s Blanche never fails to come across snobbish and borderline cruel in disparaging Stanley’s “primitive” temperament. She is immensely exasperating when she lectures and whines throughout the play, allowing her family ties to Stella override houseguest etiquette in spite of her precarious status. There is a multifaceted, inconsolable battle within Blanche that Ferran acutely delivers, which makes Stella’s betrayal and disbelief at the end all the more wounding.
Fresh from the success of coming-of-age film Aftersun, Paul Mescal once again proves his acting prowess, this time in his first official London stage performance as the burly Stanley Kowalski. Stanley stands in complete juxtaposition to Blanche’s girlishness with his animalistic brutality and undisguised disdain for her. Not a moment is wasted, as throughout the play, Mescal conveys a visceral rage that takes over his whole body - he is forever tense when Blanche is present and his muscles pulsate when he shouts, yells, and screams. Yet, Mescal’s Stanley is not one dimensional - he shows an all-encompassing love for Stella (albeit aggressive), and initially shows restraint and deference towards Blanche. Ultimately, he caves into venomous hostility for a woman who vocalises his insecurities and challenges his authority. Quite the departure from his typically quiet-and-complicated-guy roles, Mescal stuns the audience into silence when he takes over in the last act sprawled on all fours as he commits the crime of the play.
The message, at the end, is clear - desire is powerful, and dangerous when untamed.
A Streetcar Named Desire moves to the West End from March 20th, with an unforgettable cast of actors surely to become household names in the years to come.