National Theatre Live: A Streetcar Named Desire

As a Southern person with a Southern accent, it drives me to drink when people think that All-southern accents sound like scarlet O'Hara or fog horn Leghorn. These characters are from Mississippi and Louisiana, Not the Delta of North Carolina.

I get that this is performed in a theater, but it feels like they are often yelling with no variation in their tone or intonation to show emotion, it's just yelling. There are moments of intimacy, but the director seems scared of the intimate safe and sweet moments in the play. An example of this is when Blanche meets Mitch. It's a little too pitched to be the sweet moment that it should be that sets up the tragic end later.

This is a beautiful play and doesn't necessarily need to be updated or messed with, but unfortunately the director clearly had a "vision" for the show. I don't think that that vision helped bring the show to life. Scene changes are pronounced with loud, unnerving, and dissonant music which I'm sure is to forebode the tragedy, but only annoys.

The gentleman playing Stanley however is really fantastic as is the lady playing Stella who many will recognize as Princess Margaret from the Crown. The star of course is Gillian Anderson who does a wonderful job as Blanche given the direction that she was given for this performance. All of the faults of this show lie firmly at the directors feet. Which is a shame since it's such a good show.