A Streetcar Named Desire Reviews by Kathryn Fulcher

Arguably Tennessee Williams' best loved and most popular play, 'A Streetcar Named Desire' is guaranteed to grip you from start to finish.

Set in 1950s New Orleans, the highly pretentious Miss Blanche Dubois visits her sister and brother-in-law, Stella and Stanley Kowalski. Blanche, "virtuous", sensitive and 'moth-like' is a cultured antithesis of Stanley with his overt sensuality and primal behaviour, providing the audience with a wonderful drama of emotions.

Williams cleverly unravels Blanche's shocking history through Stanley, whose determined investigations reveal her past mistakes from her inability to receive closure from her young husband's death. The delightful use of explicit and precise stage directions results in a fantastic array of tension-building music, dramatic irony and intricately inter-woven symbolism.

The eleven scenes span over a long period of time, condensing the play into major dramatic events which intensify the emotions of both the characters and the audience. This is futher affirmed by the small set - the tiny apartment bespeaks confinement, accentuating the emotional density and the power and menace of Stanley's physical presence.

As the loss of literature, language, music and culture (everything that Blanche epitomises) is replaced with desire and lust, Blanche slowly 'fades' into her illusions; unable to cope with a changing world and ultimately losing her grip on sanity altogether.

Peter Shaffer wrote of Williams: "He could not write a dull scene." I could not agree more; 'A Streetcar Named Desire' is rightfully one of the best pieces of modern American literature as it will undoubtably be remembered, discussed and enjoyed for years to come.

Emma Stimson, A-level student.

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I agree that the play is mostly interesting and memorable. I find her interpretation of Blanche's past being revealed by Stanley useful as I hadn't considered it very much before.
I don't agree fully that there are no dull moments, as I find that when Blanche is trying to flirt with Mitch she becomes an uninteresting and cliché character that is commonly seen in plays, especially that are set in the 1940s as Streetcar is. Adding to this, Blanche seems often desperate for a husband, like when she says "Honey, would I be here if the man weren't married?" I find that Blanche is the most interesting when she is challenging social roles of the time, such as being more capable to look after Belle Reve than the men in her family.

An enjoyable, but short, play. It's all a bit stereotypical now and the casual violence, and cruelty, to the women difficult to stomach. That said it is easy to see why it caused a stir at the time therefore of historical interest at the very least.

Grant F Ferguson

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I agree that the play is short, but I think that this is a good thing as is doesn't draw out the plot too much and makes it seem as if Blanche's life is all falling apart at once, which is also shown by her revealing information on "All those deaths!" and "the loss" of Belle Reve in the first scene. I also agree that the play is stereotypical in today's society, but that is part of the charm as it wouldn't be entertaining to read a play that is the exact same as everyday life. I think that the play is good at expressing what life was like for women in the 1940s, and so it should be "difficult to stomach" for people now as so much has changed.

After studying this play on my course, I find everything a little bit over-dramatic for my tastes (I say that full well knowing the irony). Character like Mitch and Stanley tend to come across a little flat, and although they serve their purposes in moving the story forward, I feel like more could have been done with them.

Julian P. Outram

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I don't agree that Stanley's character comes across as "flat", mainly because he is so violent and rude that I find myself wondering what awful thing he will do next, such as when he "lurches up and tosses some watermelon rinds to the floor" or "tosses the instrument out of the window. I do believe that Mitch's character was a bit dull, as he was presented as someone who couldn't do anything wrong, as if he had no faults of his own. For example, when he finds out that Blanche has lied to him, he doesn't forgive her, or even really give her a chance to explain, but immediately assumes the worst. But, as the reviewer said, I suppose this was a device used to move the story forward.

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The "simmering stew of growing emotion" is a great way to describe a play such as Streetcar and I fully agree with what she mentioned about the stage directions being able to immerse the reader into the play, especially with the repeated use of the "blue piano" whenever Blanche is experiencing any strong emotions, such as when she argues with Stanley. One occasion that the blue piano is used is when Blanche finds out that Stella is pregnant and says "The blind are - leading the blind!", where we know that Blanche has become overwhelmed at the news, especially as this happened while she was arguing with Stanley..