Not one, but two, iconic American plays featuring complex leading roles for women are playing in Melbourne this winter. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf staring Kat Stewart opened to a standing ovation in the CBD. Whilst over at the Arts Centre, Melbourne Theatre Company launched A Street Car Named Desire. Nikki Shiels stars in the iconic role of Blanche DuBois – a Southern belle with genteel affectations and dark secrets. 
Blanche is larger-than-life character living in an era where women are wives, mothers, school teachers or old maids. With nowhere to go after losing her teaching job, Blanche appears one night on her sister Stella’s door step. The drama unfolds over a hot, sweaty New Orleans summer, as Blanche shares a tiny one-bedroom apartment with her sister and Stella’s violent, working class husband, Stanley.
In typical MTC fashion, the set isn’t simply a set. Rather, the tiny apartment practically becomes another character in the production. The full-revolve stage includes views into the upstairs neighbour’s apartment, bathroom, outside porch, and fire escape. 
The show is an endurance test, with nearly three hours of high drama on a revolving set. Credit to Shiels for her portrayal of Blanche as a complex and sympathetic character. Blanche Du Bois is a flawed character, to be sure. But through a modern lens I see Blanche differently than audiences received her when the show premiered in 1947. All of the characters in the production are struggling to break free of suffocating of mid-century America values. Racism, sexism, homophobia, and domestic violence are on full display. Described as morally bereft and lapping up liquor like a wildcat, Blanche is humiliated for her many dalliances with men. Blanche is a tragic character, to be sure. But watching MTC’s version of A Streetcar Named Desire in 2024, I see not just Blanche’s personal failings, but that of society. 
A Streetcar Named Desire is an iconic American play and Tennessee Williams won a Pulitzer Prize for the script. The cast is clearly talented, but the preview performance I attended left me wishing the Aussie actors could perform using their own dialects. Whilst Blanche and Stella are scripted as sisters growing up on the same plantation, their accents are worlds apart.
– Jenny
Jenny S. is an event adventurer. When she’s not attending live shows, you can find her sampling the latest craft beer or sipping a creative cocktail.
A Streetcar Named Desire runs through 17 August 2024 at the Arts Centre Melbourne. Running time approximately 2 hours 50 minutes, including a 20 minute interval. This venue is accessible. Book tickets now.
