A Streetcar Named Desire - Almeida / Phoenix

[theatrefan77]

I have a spare ticket available for today at 2pm. Front Row Circle, face value £20. Message me if interested

[stevemar]

Dec 23, 2022 9:20:59 GMT theatrefan77 said:

I have a spare ticket available for today at 2pm. Front Row Circle, face value £20. Message me if interested

Theatrefan77 - although of course you’re giving people here first dibs, recommend you call the box office as the performance is sold out, so a good chance they will be able to sell for you.

Shoreditch Tom - I will look out for the flying chair as I’m in the rear stalls front row…

[theatrefan77]

I was trying to call the box office but got an automated reply saying that the box office opens the phones at 11am today.

The good news is that the ticket is now gone

[David J]

I enjoyed this a lot.

Patsy Ferran once again excelled. She remembered the lines and she made the moments when she was turning the pages to the right spot look part of her character. Naturalistic as ever and held you attention.

The other stellar performance came from Dwane Walcott. Gave a naturally soft and grounded performance as the mild tempered Mitch. He and Patsy shone when it was just them alone

The others ranged from fine to good, but didn’t meet th level of the two I mentioned. Paul Mescal’s range only went so far playing macho and angry.

Fracknells directing choices had their moments. The cast were in-synch when they were doing actions on and around the stage. The rain doesn’t add much to proceedings and the physical stuff from the young actor felt pointless

3.75 stars

[stevemar]

Really enjoyed this today. Some mild spoilers below.

- Patsy Ferran at the top of her game, so naturalistic, and I can only imagine her performance will deepen further into the run. Having seen her in Summer and Smoke and Camp Siegfried, she really is a wonderful actress.
- Paul Mescal was good, but I didn’t feel he brought more to the role than the animalistic control and anger.
- David J - agree about Dwane Walcott. Made the most of those quiet/calm scenes.
- It was actually great to see Rebecca Frecknall on as Eunice.
- Steve (at plays) - I am not sure I comprehended your view of the others as the fantasists, but with so much ugliness in the world, I always read it as Blanche retreating into her fantasy world, except when the shot rings out (drums play).
- Foxa - I think the handing of the props/dresses was all part of the intended direction, maybe the idea of Blanche “playing a part” in the real world, or just meta-Brechtian effect.
- I enjoyed the light and sound, particularly the drums and additional drama created by them. Was the drum player above the stage/at back, as we were in rear stalls?
- Not sure some of the movement added much, nor the rain (though it imprisoned them in that world). Even got a few small splashes from the front row.
- Jacob - agree, I don’t understand why they omitted some parts which would have made it clearer Blanche’s disgust with husband/Alan’s actions, and would explain a lot.
- Whilst sat in the rear stalls, I felt some of the main scenes were staged facing the main stalls more, but with just enough movement to temper that.
- The final scene could do with some changes - perhaps lose the tableaux/rain/movement and stage it more conventionally. Or give more time for the actual spoken parts.
- This was much better than the effective but overly loud/dizzying Young Vic production with Gillian Anderson, but the Donmar production with Rachel Weisz and Ruth Wilson remains the high point for me.
- Nice to spot Cabaret actors Elliott Levey and Calllum Scott Howells in the audience today.

The above may all sound a bit nit-picky, as this was yet another Almeida triumph, 4.5/5 (so 4 in the vote).

[mrbarnaby]

Erm 2 actors who are supposed to be in shows currently?! Nice

[stevemar]

Dec 23, 2022 23:41:21 GMT mrbarnaby said:

Erm 2 actors who are supposed to be in shows currently?! Nice

Err, this was Fri matinee so not sure if that makes a difference depending on the schedules of the other shows (and presumably actors are allowed time off - I guess arguably if scheduled).

[mrbarnaby]

Dec 23, 2022 23:45:06 GMT stevemar said:

Dec 23, 2022 23:41:21 GMT mrbarnaby said:

Erm 2 actors who are supposed to be in shows currently?! Nice

Err, this was Fri matinee so not sure if that makes a difference depending on the schedules of the other shows (and presumably actors are allowed time off - I guess arguably if scheduled).

Ohhhh… that makes sense then!

[Dave B]

I also enjoyed this. I think I liked Mescal's performance more than many so far. When he first started I thought he was just doing a Brando impersonation but after about 30 seconds that vanished and I thought he did really well.

I liked the staging with a couple of caveats. The water as mentioned was a bit huh, but the main thing that threw me a bit was the open stage leaving us to rely on the dialogue about the two separate rooms and watching or catching glimpses of people dressing/undressing. This felt a bit underdone as a result.

Patsy Ferran was great, Rebecca Frecknall was really good too especially for short notice taking over a part.

[David J]

Dec 23, 2022 23:05:04 GMT stevemar said:

- The final scene could do with some changes - perhaps lose the tableaux/rain/movement and stage it more conventionally. Or give more time for the actual spoken parts.
- This was much better than the effective but overly loud/dizzying Young Vic production with Gillian Anderson, but the Donmar production with Rachel Weisz and Ruth Wilson remains the high point for me.

Agree on both fronts. My friend, seeing the play for the first time, got the gist of what was going on but the transition into the last scene could have been tighter and clearer and the slow-mo stuff was unecessary.

But better than the the Young Vic set turning at high speed by the end which was disorientating to a fault

[theatrefan77]

Overall a disappointing production. Patsy Ferran is a great actress but she's 100% miscast as Blanche. Rebecca Frecknall can't act really and she makes a very dull and monotone Eunice. i understand that this was emergency casting but it didn't work for me.

Some of the staging is interesting although a tad pretentious and the final scene is poorly executed.

Anjana Vasan and Paul Mescal were both great.

I'm giving it 3 stars which I think is quite generous.

[londonpostie]

I went last night. This production of a classic seems to somewhat mirror the Donmar's current revival in so much as there have been cancellations and a change of leading role, and rather like Watch on the Rhine it appears to be coming together pretty well.

This was about the 10-11th performance though about the third for Patsy/Blanche off-book. With Press Night inevitably delayed, the line between previews and the run seems blurred, though Patsy is starting to properly inhabit the role now, with just very occasional phrasing to iron out.

Talented group. It is coming together, I would imagine rapidly now.

In-the-round works very well for much of the piece but it also presents tricky little problems, the final scene included.

I did wonder if the drummer was either over-amped or John Bonham reincarnate (at times VERY VERY LOUD!).

The production does peak Tennessee Williams justice. Look forward to returning in the last week of the run to see them in full flow.

Currently 3 1/2 bowling balls out of five, with 4 and a bit likely in the new year.

[vernongersh]

Five stars from me. An intense, evocative and exquisitely production. Rivted to the story, the words from Willams and three spectacular performances. It felt cohesive, dramatic, eye catching and evocative. This is why we go to the theater . Feel so fortunate I was able to see this. Direction was also brilliant.

[marob]

Just a heads up for anyone after a ticket: I’ve just asked to return mine for tomorrow’s matinee. I think it was the only front row centre ticket I could find when I booked it, but the train strikes coupled with the difficulty of trying to get annual leave this time of year means it’s too much hassle to try to get down to London and back.

[nottobe]

I also caught this last night and for me it was good but was so close to being brilliant. I booked to see this because Patsy Ferran had joined the cast as she is always a must watch for me. I was considering seeing this before however her addition secured me and she did not disappoint. She is perhaps just on the cusp age wise for it to be believable but she really carries this production and you would never have known that she was a late edition. I was also very impressed by Paul Mescal as Stanley. I found myself jumping and actually being frighted whenever he shouted or ran around the theatre. Anjana Vasan was also brilliant as Stella, having great chemistry with both Ferran and Mescal and added real humanity to the character. The rest of the cast where also good, aside from Eunice who sadly had a very dodgy accent.

The production really worked in the round and my £10 restricted view seat was a steal, as the pole only obstructed the far corner of the stage, but you could just adjust your head then. I loved the use of the music to which also enchanted the tension.

Sadly what did not work was Frecknall's over direction of the piece. The added moment motifs and rain ended up making what was happening somewhat confusing. This was especially apparent in the final scene which then lost all its emotional climax. I wounder if those unfamiliar with the play what actually know what happened at the end in this version. In my opinion the final scene would have worked better if it was played 100% naturalistically as it would show Blanche has finally broken.

For me this is a four star production that is so close to being five star. If the movement was ditched that it could have been. I do wonder if a west end transfer may happen and if so maybe Lydia Wilson will join again.

[cavocado]

My views are similar to nottobe 's. I mostly loved this and was excited about Patsy Ferran who didn't disappoint. I only saw the filmed version of the YV production and also the Vivien Leigh film, both of which seemed centred on Blanche as a flawed, self-destructive, over the top character. The Almeida version is more of an ensemble piece focused on all of these people being trapped by social rules and/or financial hardships into lives that are outside their control. 

Ferran is so against type that I didn't have that (annoying to me) sense of a woman who uses beauty and glamour as a way of avoiding taking control of her life. PF is lovely but not in a Vivien Leigh/Gilian Anderson glamorous way, so she was able to create this pitiful woman raised into this stereotype she doesn't fit but can't escape. She seemed a smaller character than I expected, but in a good way, more relatable.

Anjana Vasan was a very good Stella, and there was a really strong sense of sisterly love and shared background with Blanche, which I didn't feel so much with the Young Vic version. I also liked Paul Mescal, who managed to make Stanley sympathetic and repugnant at the same time, and the Stella/Stanley marriage felt very believable. 

I liked the sound design and the drumming mirroring Blanche's mental jumpiness and decline. Not sure about the rain as I couldn't stop comparing it to The Crucible, so couldn't work out what meaning was intended, though it looked good. Costumes good, but I'm not sure why Stella was wearing chunky jumpers in such hot weather. I liked the lack of scenery and the way a character who was being talked about would sometimes walk around the outside of the stage during a scene, so you weren't sure what was overheard. The lack of defined boundaries and privacy heightened the sense of oppression; and the way props were placed on the stage when needed also added to that sense that these people don't have control over their lives. 

It was a riveting 3 hours and would have been 5 stars from me, except the ending lost it a star as I think it was made too ambiguous (see spoiler). It would be good to hear what anyone who didn't already know the play made of this part, and if anything changes later in the run. If I can get a ticket I'd love to see it again.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler - click to view}
I didn't think it was at all clear that Stanley rapes Blanche. The implied/stylised violence was too ambiguous, and left open the possibility that the rape didn't happen, which I can't believe was Frecknall's intention. Stella saying that if she'd believed Blanche she couldn't carry on living with Stanley was almost a throwaway line, but my memory of the OV production was that moment being heartbreaking because the audience knows what has happened and what choice Stella is making. 

[londonpostie]

Thought I'd Wiki Paul Mescal as I only know him from Sally Rooney's Normal People, and he was outstanding in that. Graduated from Trinity, Dublin in 2017, seemingly in constant work since. Age: 26 - not many younger than him in this cast.

Resident of that thar London. Now a paid-up member of the Frecknall-Almeida illuminati. Fill your boots, lad.

[Forrest]

Dec 29, 2022 16:03:03 GMT cavocado said:

I mostly loved this and was excited about Patsy Ferran who didn't disappoint...

I enjoyed this very much, especially because I found Ferran a surprisingly brilliant Blanche: there was just the right amount of both stubbornness and fragility in her to make her character both infuriating (in her determination to deny reality) and utterly likeable. She compensates for her lack of classical good looks as Blanche (the angle of the ageing beauty, that someone has mentioned) by heavily amplifying her craving for magic and her desire to find the pure romance she once thought she had and then lost. I found that fully consuming and so utterly heartbreaking. I don't think I entirely see eye to eye with Steve 's view (brilliant, though, as usual) of her being the one truly reasonable character, but I do fully agree with the deliberate cosplay interpretation, and with her being the heart of the production. She chooses to drown in her own desires, to consciously avoid reality, because that is too painful. In an odd way, I found her relatable, even if we truly have nothing in common (except, perhaps, that craving for magic).

cavocado , I quoted you because I especially enjoyed reading your thoughts on the tiny details of the production: I sometimes feel like, post-pandemic, I've almost lost the ability to perceive those kinds of details in the same way as before (which saddens me a little), like nothing has truly gotten to me in a while, which makes talking about theatre a bit scary (like I'm not doing it right any more), and reading your comments made me think about how much I miss that feeling. I also agree with all your insights, especially the lack of boundaries and the absence of control, accentuated by the characters not really leaving the stage and props appearing and disappearing independently of those in focus.

I found Mescal's Stanley a bit obvious, but he was far from bad; he did a good job. Anjana Vasan was a beautifully gentle Stella, torn between the two worlds that collided around her (her sister's and her husband's).

Perhaps the only thing I can hold against Frecknall is that she seems to often resort to the same bag of tricks in her plays (walking around the stage, slow motion scenes...), consequently making things a little predictable. But I will happily go see whatever it is that she does next. 
And I cannot wait to see Ferran in something again.

[gazzaw13]

Not sure how anyone who has seen this could think that Patsy was miscast in this particular production. I was sceptical in advance having seen Jessica Lange, Glen Close and others as Blanche , casting which builds an expectation of who Blanche is. Patsy’s performance is completely different - more controlled, more sane, less hysterical, less glamorous and much much more fierce. She is perfect for what Rebecca Frecknall wants from the character and the production. Also Patsy and Paul create amazing sparks in their scenes together. 5* from me and so pleased that Patsy took over as Blanche.

[theatreliker]

I've just returned two £10 rear stalls tickets for this Saturday's matinee (7th January). Snap them up so I can get a refund

[cavocado]

Jan 3, 2023 16:53:26 GMT Forrest said:

Dec 29, 2022 16:03:03 GMT cavocado said:

I mostly loved this and was excited about Patsy Ferran who didn't disappoint...

cavocado , I quoted you because I especially enjoyed reading your thoughts on the tiny details of the production: I sometimes feel like, post-pandemic, I've almost lost the ability to perceive those kinds of details in the same way as before (which saddens me a little), like nothing has truly gotten to me in a while, which makes talking about theatre a bit scary (like I'm not doing it right any more), and reading your comments made me think about how much I miss that feeling. I also agree with all your insights, especially the lack of boundaries and the absence of control, accentuated by the characters not really leaving the stage and props appearing and disappearing independently of those in focus.

Thanks Forrest. I think I'm almost the opposite in that I'd lost my way a bit with theatre before the pandemic and wasn't going so often or getting as much out of the plays I saw. When theatres were closed I realised what I was missing, and now I think I focus better when I'm at the theatre and try and think more about what I'm seeing. Having said that, I often feel I haven't understood a play or have missed something important, so I really enjoy reading all the posts here and getting different people's thoughts and perspectives.

[theatreman]

I just returned 1 ticket for the evening performance of Wednesday 11th January. It's on the end of the first row of the Circle (20 pounds).
So i suppose that tomorrow morning it will show up on their website in case somebody wants it.

[mrbarnaby]

Is Patsy still carrying her notebook around?

Re the miscast thing- on a basic level , she’s way too young.

[Mark]

Jan 7, 2023 0:31:01 GMT mrbarnaby said:

Is Patsy still carrying her notebook around?

Re the miscast thing- on a basic level , she’s way too young.

She’s not.
Saw tonight and thought she was wonderful. She probably is a little young, but my god they hit the jackpot when she happened to be available to fill in last minute. Brilliant.

[theatrelover123]

Jan 7, 2023 0:31:01 GMT mrbarnaby said:

Is Patsy still carrying her notebook around?

Re the miscast thing- on a basic level , she’s way too young.

Patsy is 33.

In the play, Blanche is described in the stage notes and descriptions as 5 years older than Stella, who is 25.