MAYER WAKEFIELD is entertained but let down by an audacious production that, sadly, doesn't ring true
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A Streetcar Named Desire, Young Vic/National Theatre at Home
Gillian Anderson is riveting as the damaged goods in a Tennessee Williams classic
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by drama that, despite accomplished performances, cannot overcome an unfocused script
New releases from Sam Carter, Spell Songs and Les Thomas
KEN COCKBURN traces the one original language – that of the Yamnaya pastoral nomads – from which all European and Indian languages derive
PAUL DONOVAN is fascinated by the debunking of the iconic British war hero
ALEX HALL recommends a searing panorama of our global predicament
WHEN A Streetcar Named Desire premiered in New York in 1947, it was hailed as a sensation. It went on to become a 20th-century tour de force and as director Benedict Andrews demonstrates in this Young Vic production, it is an abiding masterpiece.
TO DIE FOR: Gillian Anderson (centre) as Blanche DuBois [Photo Alastair Muir]
Its subtle updating is an astonishingly daring approach given writer Tennessee Williams’s precision in its original setting.
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Although this production was in rehearsal before the playwright’s death, it allows us to pay homage to his life, suggests MARY CONWAY