"A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams.

Blind Eye Productions.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

You can see why this play was so shocking when it was first performed in theatres in the late 1940s as it deals with adultery, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, gambling and mental illness. This is also the reason it has stood the test of time. The characters are beautifully flawed and the plot twists and turns, giving away the story a little at a time, keeping your attention every step of the way.

If you can disengage yourself from the film version, you can see that this cast have taken the characters and rudiments of the characters and have slightly remoulded them around themselves and their own personal set of acting skills. You won’t be seeing a Marlon Brando or Vivienne Leigh lookalikes or soundalikes in this production. You won’t need to as the cast have enough experience and are charismatic enough to take the story and carry it.

You can almost feel the New Orleans heat in this production, helped greatly by the red lighting which gave a feeling of heat. Fading southern belle, Blanche DuBois, seeks solace with her sister, Stella Kowalski, after her world starts to crumble. Her downward spiral brings her face-to-face with Stella’s husband, the brutal, unforgiving Stanley Kowalski. Temperatures soar and passions rise, as Blanche and Stanley battle for Stella’s soul.

Monica Dakin (Blanche) gave an absolute blinder of a performance with a very credible accent. The gradual decline of her mental health was like a slow burn, exacerbated though by Stanley's mental and physical actions. This is a brilliant and complex role for any woman to play, making that role feel as natural as it looked from the auditorium, takes an actor who knows just how to pitch that character.

Beth Duffy (Stella) showed us the two sides of Blanche's sister, and I loved the way that there was that gradual flipping of the coin, revealing that she had the better end of the stick, especially after the put downs from Blanche at the start. As Blanche showed an even more glamorous side, Stella appeared the more dowdy, creating that sliding scale of character and appearance. Beth's face showed the fear and pain throughout the production. A stellar performance.

JJ McCormack (Stanley) shows a completely different side of his acting skills in this beast of a role. Stanley creates the unease and JJ delivers the unease with a side dish of menace and oppressiveness. You actually felt a little uneasy with this timebomb character, and that, believe me, is just what you should feel. That is a sign that actor and director have both done their homework, and their intended job. I know JJ as one of the loveliest human beings ever, and to see his performance here really makes you not want to get on the dark side of him. Just look at the demonic glee in the scenes at the end of the play, I was almost expecting his eyes to glow red!!

Paul Duffy (Mitch), again gives us two sides of the character with Blanche, and possibly helping her on the down slide, especially after we learn about Blanche's past. As with JJ I've not seen the unleashing of his angry character acting as I did on Wednesday night, in fact both actors made me jump with their first tirades. There's a scene where Mitch, who at first is a real kind soul, almost child like with Blanche, attacks Stanley, and that scene looked very realistic; the  stage combat training obviously paid off for both.

Jackie Cooper (Eunice Hubbel), the neighbour upstairs who looks out for Stella. But this character has her own marital issues with hubby Steve Hubbel, played by Saurav Modak. Jackie presents this character as the sort of woman that every woman wants on her side. Strong, protective but also has the experience to be able to give comment and help. Saurav is a man's man, playing poker and drinking and smoking with Stanley and the gang.

Max Wilmott (Pablo Gonzales/Young Collector), is a name that is new to me but has obviously got stage experience because you can see the confidence in both of these characters, especially in his main character Pablo.

Steve Webb (Doctor), makes a cameo appearance at the end in one of the most upsetting scenes with Blanche and Lindsey Hemingway (Matron and Flower Seller), doubles up her roles. Lindsey's Flower Seller is quite creepy, not sure why, maybe because of her cowled figure, but as the Matron she is determined to carry out her duties, and does not take "no" as an answer.

Directed by Paul Duffy, this is a powerful production, as well as a long one, lasting three hours with interval, so you get your money's worth. You can feel the heat from the stage and the frayed, and unhinged tempers. I've seen "Streetcar" maybe only a couple of times on stage but every time, I am drawn into the story, even though I know it well, but when the explosions start, Paul makes sure these actors hold nothing back.

The set design has been constructed by Grant Hemingway & Zack McCormack  and you get a set that is split into three. The smaller scenes for outside the Kowalski's, show steps leading up to the Hubbel's apartment. The main scenes are played out in the scant living room/kitchen with a divider which looks to have the strength of a cobweb, separating the bedroom.

Sound and lighting operation is by Nick Elliott and Alan Betton. My only notes for the lighting is that, in places I would have had less lighting to focus on the poker game, to draw you into the game, expanding the lighting when Stanley has a go at Blanche and Stella for making a noise. I did also smile as well when, in the scene where Mitch and Blanche are together, Mitch says to put the light on as he had not seen her properly in the light. I'd have used less light in this scene because the stage was flooded with light at this point. 

It was nice to see no actor mic'd up but there were a few times during the play that I'd have liked a bit more projection.

The costumes have been designed by JJ McCormack, who himself goes through as many costumes as Blanche does, and I love that kimono style, silky looking costume for Blanche. As I said previously, the more glammed up Blanche became, costume wise, the more dowdy poor Stella's costumes became. Both costumes for Max though being very different were stylish, too reflect the younger characters.

This play is powerful, it shocks, it makes you feel uneasy, it will have you chuckling in parts and in others feeling troubled about what you're seeing. I always say that if you leave a theatre without feeling something, the cast have not done their job. I'm very pleased to say that this cast did an excellent job, bringing both realism as well as magic.

As with every Blind Eye production, they give a little bit back by supporting a different chosen charity for each show and this time Blind Eye are supporting Juno Women's Aid as well as The British Heart Foundation, so please buy a raffle ticket or two as this also helps their support of these charities.

Don't turn a blind eye to this production. It's a modern classic still, and has lost none of it's ability to shock an audience.

"A Streetcar Named Desire" by Blind Eye Productions is at The Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton until Saturday 11 May.

Photos by Gavin Mawditt.