A Streetcar Named Desire

Written by Tennessee Williams.
Directed by Anne Somes.
Associate Director Cate Clelland.

Winner of the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
When Blanche unexpectedly visits her estranged sister Stella, she brings with her a past that will threaten their future. As Stella’s husband Stanley sees through her façade, Blanche’s fragile world begins to fracture. Reality and illusion collide and a violent conflict changes their lives forever.

Following their acclaimed production of Speaking in Tongues, Free-Rain Theatre Company returns in 2024 with one of the most influential plays of the twentieth century.

The play is set in the French Quarter of New Orleans in 1947 – the same year the play was written. “Streetcar is a thicket of internal wars”. The complexity, the ambivalence and the unexpectedness of the characters draw us to ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’.

“There should always be an area of mystery in human characters”
Tennessee Williams

His ability to create a duality that plagues his characters, the intimation that a potentially destructive life beats just beneath the surface. The ambiguity of the attraction and repulsion, the fear and the love present a really stimulating challenge.

An amateur production by arrangement with ORiGiN™Theatrical, on behalf of Samuel French Ltd. – A Concord Theatricals Company.

CONTENT WARNINGS: This production contains coarse language, mature themes and depictions of domestic abuse and sexual violence.

Photo: Janelle McMenamin

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In the news

Two awards at the 2024 Canberra Critics Circle Awards

We were delighted to receive a 2024 Canberra Critics Circle award in the category of Musical Theatre for our “exuberant production of this demanding musical” – Billy Elliot, The Musical, and to Amy Kowalczuk for her “incisive, sensitive and powerful performance as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire.”.

Review, 'A Streetcar Named Desire' - Len Power

As Blanche, Amy Kowalczuk establishes an immediate presence and maintains it throughout the play. Her version of the character comes from deep within. There’s no playing of surface nervousness, she lives the role. This is an extraordinary performance that is a success on all levels.

Review, 'A Streetcar Named Desire' - That Guy Who Watches Canberra Theatre

Amy Kowalczuk as Blanche … strikes every note perfectly. Alex Hoskison matches her as Stanley … (who is) earthy, practical and assertive – a simple man with rage under the surface.

Triumphant production of a searing classic. Review - Alanna Maclean.

Tennessee Williams is not for the faint of heart. Free-Rain do a fine job with this searing classic. Amy Kowalczuk as Blanche and Meaghan Stewart as her sister Stella are one of the best matched set of Streetcar sisters that you could hope for. Hoskison makes a towering and pragmatic Stanley.

From the streetcar to the stage, desire lands at ACT Hub

Casting aside black-and-white storytelling and stepping into the grey, A Streetcar Named Desire is an unforgettable exploration of the human condition. The complex characters and enthralling tale come to the stage at ACT Hub on 19-29 June.

Streetcar Alex won't be channelling Brando

Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire is one of the greatest acting vehicles in the western repertoire.

Set in New Orleans, it pits the neurotically fragile Blanche duBois, Southern belle-gone-wrong, against her brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski, the coarse son of Polish immigrants. The two almost represent the decline and fall of the western world.

Cast Announcement - A Streetcar Named Desire

Following their acclaimed production of Speaking in Tongues in 2023, Free-Rain Theatre Company returns in 2024 with one of the most influential plays of the twentieth century, with Amy Kowalczuk as Blanche DuBois, Alex Hoskison as Stanley Kowalski, and Meaghan Stewart as Stella Kowalski.

Details

When: 19 June – 29 June 2024
Where: ACT Hub

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Cast

Amy Kowalczuk
Alex Hoskison
Meaghan Stewart
Lachlan Ruffy
Sarah Hull
Tim Stiles
Lachlan Elderton
James Morgan
Mercy Lelei
Rica Oyolla
David H. Bennett
Olivia Wenholz
Rina Onorato