Scottish Ballet, A Streetcar Named Desire, Sadler's Wells
Scottish Ballet's gripping adaptation of Tennessee William's A Streetcar Named Desire returns to Sadler's Wells
Marge Hendrick as Blanche in Scottish Ballet's A Streetcar Named Desire. Photo: Andy Ross
A Streetcar Named Desire is perhaps Tennessee Williams's best-known play and it's not hard to see why. An intense drama where delusions clash with harsh reality with devastating consequences, it's set in steamy 1940s New Orleans and features unforgettable characters, especially Blanche DuBois, the fading Southern belle with a past, and her bruttish brother-in-law Stanley Kowalsky.
Immortalised in the 1951 film starring Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh, it's recently had a hit return to the London stage in Rebecca Frecknall's production with Paul Mescal and Patsy Ferran. Scottish Ballet's version, though, stands its ground against these landmark interpretations.
Guest Principal Ryoichi Hirano and Principal Marge Hendrick in Scottish Ballet's A Streetcar Named Desire. Photo: Andy Ross
Choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and directed by Nancy Meckler, with a score by Peter Salem, who provided the music to another Scottish Ballet hit, The Crucible, A Streetcar Named Desire is narrative ballet at its best, with compelling dancing, expert story-telling and period-perfect design by Niki Turner.
Unlike in the play, which starts with Blanche's turning up on her sister's doorstep, her true back story only gradually revealed, here the story is told in chronological order, so that we are aware of Blanche's tortured past life well before Stanley determines to find out what's behind her genteel facade.
It's a different way of building up tension, and one that overcomes the absence of the kind of nuance that only speech can convey. And it works absolutely.
Last seen at Sadler's Wells in 2015 Scottish Ballet's A Streetcar Named Desire now makes a very welcome return to the capital.
Age Guidance: 15+
Immortalised in the 1951 film starring Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh, it's recently had a hit return to the London stage in Rebecca Frecknall's production with Paul Mescal and Patsy Ferran. Scottish Ballet's version, though, stands its ground against these landmark interpretations.
Guest Principal Ryoichi Hirano and Principal Marge Hendrick in Scottish Ballet's A Streetcar Named Desire. Photo: Andy Ross
Choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and directed by Nancy Meckler, with a score by Peter Salem, who provided the music to another Scottish Ballet hit, The Crucible, A Streetcar Named Desire is narrative ballet at its best, with compelling dancing, expert story-telling and period-perfect design by Niki Turner.
Unlike in the play, which starts with Blanche's turning up on her sister's doorstep, her true back story only gradually revealed, here the story is told in chronological order, so that we are aware of Blanche's tortured past life well before Stanley determines to find out what's behind her genteel facade.
It's a different way of building up tension, and one that overcomes the absence of the kind of nuance that only speech can convey. And it works absolutely.
Last seen at Sadler's Wells in 2015 Scottish Ballet's A Streetcar Named Desire now makes a very welcome return to the capital.
Age Guidance: 15+
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| What | Scottish Ballet, A Streetcar Named Desire, Sadler's Wells |
| Where | Sadler's Wells, Rosebery Avenue, London, EC1R 4TN | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Angel (underground) |
| When |
16 May 24 – 19 May 24, 19:30 Sat mat at 14:30. Sun at 14:30 only. Dur.: 2 hours inc one interval |
| Price | £15-£65 |
| Website | Click here to book |