“I Don’t Want Realism. I Want Magic” - Student Theatre at Glasgow Presents A Streetcar Named Desire
Zara Grew
18/04/2024
(Image Credit: Jenny Gibbs)
A Streetcar Named Desire @ Queen Margaret Union, 25–27 March 2024, directed by Eve Miller and Emma Comfort.
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Zara Grew goes on a trip to the theatre to see a Glasgow student-led production of A Streetcar Named Desire...
Student Theatre at Glasgow is the oldest and largest student theatre society across all universities in the city of Glasgow. With over 150 members, they stage around 20 shows per year which are produced, directed, and performed by students.
Each year they put on a Main Stage production, and this is said to be the biggest show in the academic calendar. This year’s Main Stage was announced in September to be A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, directed by Eve Miller and Emma Comfort. The creative team behind this piece have worked relentlessly over the last two semesters to bring a modern viewpoint to this classic text.
Tackling this iconic and beloved play by Tennessee Williams is not an easy task. However, STAG has successfully brought this traditionally lyrical and complex text to life. The scene was well and truly set for the audience who were met with strings of twinkly fairy lights and music from the live jazz band on arrival. The Queen Margaret Union was transformed into a New Orleans Street with an end-on view into the 2 room Kowalski residence.
(The Laundry Room. Image Credit: Jenny Gibbs)
The music was a gateway for the audience to enter the world of the play. Laundry Room, an emerging student-led jazz band provided the score for A Streetcar Named Desire, creating a hazy, dream like atmosphere with their rich sound. Their rendition of Paper Moon was a particularly haunting accompaniment to the sombre moments of the play.
The play was spilt into 3 acts allowing time for the audience to digest the narrative and stay present with the action as the play unfolded. During these intervals, the creative team were raising money for women’s aid by selling temporary tattoos and collecting money via donation buckets. Given the play’s themes of gender-based violence this was the appropriate place to raise awareness for the cause.
(Image Credit: @_snapsbysteph_)
The true heart of the performance came from the depth and care taken in the exploration of the central characters. Blanche DuBois is a notoriously difficult character to portray, often misinterpreted as selfish and/or hysterical. This production tapped into a more modern mindset, presenting Blanche as a women limited by her position in a patriarchal structure. Laura Milton portrayed Blanche with an unshakable and unrelenting soul and imbued raw emotion in her every action and word. She was met with a strong equal in Nathan Harris’s portrayal of Stanley Kowalski who brought a quiet cunning and eerily familiar depiction of modern masculinity to the traditionally brutish role.
Strong performances from Sophie Gattis as Stella Kowalski and Micheal Murray as Harold ‘Mitch’ Mitchell offered a grounding and necessary voice of reason amongst the chaotic dynamics. Michael Murray was incredibly likeable as Mitch and his humour and charm brought much needed lightness to the overall piece. The main characters were well supported by the ensemble cast who collaboratively created time and place, offering snippets from street vendors and domestic life which lulled the audience into the 1940s dreamscape.
(Image Credit: Jenny Gibbs)
Student Theatre at Glasgow effortlessly teased out relevant themes to ensure A Streetcar Named Desire resonated with a modern audience. The play knowingly transported us to a time not so unlike our own. Issues such as class struggle, female agency and gender-based violence confronted the audience, holding up a pocket mirror to our flawed society. The cast and crew should be more than proud of this poignant adaption of A Streetcar Named Desire which had all the heart of student theatre combined with the poise and talent of a professional company.