Drama on 3: A Streetcar Named Desire

Anne Marie Duff leads a stellar cast in a new landmark production of Tennessee Williams's iconic play, telling the story of a catastrophic confrontation between fantasy and reality, embodied in the characters of Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski. Blanche DuBois arrives unexpectedly on the doorstep of her sister Stella and her explosive brother-in-law Stanley. Over the course of one hot and steamy New Orleans summer, Blanche's fragile façade slowly crumbles, wreaking havoc on Stella and Stanley's already turbulent relationship. Embodying the turmoil and drama of a changing nation, A Streetcar Named Desire strips Williams's tortured characters of their illusions, leaving a wake of destruction in their path. Tennessee Williams's 1947 play is justifiably one of the most loved and well-known stage plays of the 20th century. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award in 1948, and picked up four Oscars when it transferred to the screen with largely the same cast three years later. When it made its London debut, the Public Morality Council denounced it as `salacious and pornographic". Not coincidentally, the production was booked solid for nine months. Anne-Marie Duff (Blanche) is an Olivier-winning actress, who will soon be appearing in DC Moore's Common at the National Theatre. Matthew Needham's (Stanley) previous work includes the eponymous role in Mark Ravenhill's Candide at the RSC. Pippa Bennett-Warner (Stella) recently appeared in The Beaux Stratagem at the National Theatre, and in River on BBC One. John Heffernan's (Mitch) work includes titular roles in Macbeth at the Young Vic Theatre and Oppenheimer with the RSC