The sound of a solitary saxophone drifts across the murmur of the audience as we take our seats at Aberdeen’s His Majesty’s Theatre.
It’s a gentle introduction to the world of jazz, liquor, broken dreams and down-and-outs in the French Quarter of New Orleans as A Streetcar Named Desire takes to the stage here this week.
The acclaimed Tennesse Williams production is almost 80 years old, but has lost none of its potency.
It became an equally acclaimed movie in the 1950s, with Marlon Brando’s iconic “Stella!” yell still echoing through cinema history.
Without giving too much away to anyone uninitiated, the plot concerns the plight of dissolute southern belle Blanche Dubois coming to stay with her sister in the grotty neighbourhood after falling on hard times.
Blanche soon identifies that Stella’s partner Stanley is an abusive brute, and pleads with her sister to escape his muscular clutches.
Who plays infamous Stanley Kowalski?
Filling Brando’s shoes as boorish Stanley Kowalski is about as tough a challenge as it can get for any actor.
But when A Streetcar Named Desire pulled into HMT last night, for the first of three Aberdeen shows, actor Matthew Trevannion commanded the role.
There was a palpable change in the mood, a sense of dread spreading across the hall, whenever he stepped foot onto the stage – especially when he erupted into explosive fits of unprompted shouting.
A Streetcar Named Desire show grips Aberdeen audience
The closest thing I can liken his performance to is that of Steven Graham in 2006 film This is England.
This is a character capable of creating unease any time he walks into a room, with an ever-present threat of violence.
As Blanche DuBois, Kirsty Stuart shines too, going through hell as her facade as a prim and proper southern belle crumbles at the cruel hands of Stanley – leading to a heartbreaking finale.
The scenes between Stuart and Trevannion crackle with tension.
And The Pitlochry Festival Theatre crew has done an amazing job of the staging, perfectly capturing the shabby charm of the area with a simple but impressive set.
One particular inspired moment has Stanley emerging in silhouette form, surrounded by smoke. It’s a visual treat and one of the highlights of the show.
‘Simmering start reaches climactic boiling point’
I should admit that I’ve never seen the iconic film I mentioned earlier, and an episode of The Simpsons called A Streetcar Named Marge was the first thing that came to mind when I heard the show was coming to Aberdeen.
But having read our sister paper in Dundee describe this version as “one of the essential plays of the year”, I decided it was time to educate myself – and entered with high expectations.
Do you plan to see A Streetcar Named Desire in Aberdeen? Let us know in our comments section below
This no frills production may feel like it takes its time to get going, with an unusually long one-hour and 25 minutes first half… But it all pays off in the end.
The slowly simmering first half leads to a tense, sometimes harrowing second half, as the drama reaches a boiling point.
As I left, I could see why the play is such a classic. And there was no better introduction to it than this stunning production.
You can buy tickets on the Aberdeen Performing Arts website.
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