The Workshop Players that took local spotlight over years with the musicals “Cats”, “Les Miserables”, ‘The Lion King’, ‘Oliver!’, ‘Sound of Music’ and recently ‘Evita’, took a different path with Tennessee Williams’ “A Street Car Named Desire” in association with the 60th Anniversary of the Lionel Wendt.
From productions enhanced by singing to one woven around an intense plot of fury and sexual desire, the cast did more than justice to a script that defined twentieth century American theatre.
The play takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana, where Stella played by Shanuki De Alwis lives with her blue collar husband Stanley Kowalski played by Mario De Soyza in a quaint apartment.
Blanche Dubois, Stella’s older sister played by Bimsara Premaratne, arrives at the Kowalski doorstep with the news of the loss of the family estate, Bella Reve; the underlying reason behind the visit being seeking refuge from a troubled past.
Friction between Blanche and Stanley sparked by her ethereal air and his rough mannerisms continues to heighten until Stanley relentlessly unmasks her true person, stripping her bare of her only ray of hope Harold Mitchell (Mitch) her new found love, played by Andre Perera.
The play hinged on Mario’s oppressive character which was defined by a somewhat bestial instinct that did not even spare his pregnant wife. Bimasara Premaratne, did justice to her debut role of Blanche with the Workshop Players and played a key role in sustaining the tension and ominous atmosphere on stage.
Shanuki’s role took neutral colours as a woman conditioned by a male dominated environment and evoked sympathy in the eyes of the audience as she stood Stanley’s brutality and her sister’s apparent concealed past.
Andre’s reserved yet charming nature presented itself a caricature to Stanley; but made a laudable transformation when in his rage confronts Blanche of her history she had conveniently left undercover. The audience was moved and shared the emotional turmoil staged by the characters when Blanche is taken away at the end of the play to an asylum.
The stage set was that of an apartment of which certain props seemed to be symbolic and intricately woven together with the developing plot on stage.
The light bulb in Blanche’s bedroom is soon covered with a Chinese lantern and remains so until her stories sustain her facade and is removed when Blanche confesses her past to Mitch. The hazy mirror in the bedroom that Blanche often peers into seemed to portray her disillusionment of life.
The utilitarian set also portrayed the simple lifestyle of Stella and Stanley and the poor yet quaint neighbourhood.
The main sponsor of “A Street Car Named Desire” was Nations Trust Bank with Daily Mirror and the Sunday Times official print media sponsors and Lite FM, the electronic media sponsor.
Comments:
“I found it a little slow at the beginning but it picked up towards the end. Blanche and Mario were really good.” – Shyamala
“I waited till the end to figure it out. Very detailed and the acting is very good.” – Cader
“It was interesting to see broadway adapted here. Nice genre, not your general drama.” – Nileptha
“I enjoyed it! Great performances! The set’s really nice.” – Tom
“The set’s pretty good and the lady playing Stella was really good!” – James
By Sapthika Jacob
Pics by Kithsiri De Mel
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ASIA says:
Aug 06, 2013 at 12:00 amThe Players of Desire By ASIA A review of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ by the Workshop Players. When I first saw in the newspapers that the iconic American Pulitzer prize winning play by Tennessee Williams was going on the boards in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Lionel Wendt, I was instantly filled with trepidation. Trepidation because it is just no easy play even though the script is part of the text for the Cambridge examinations that many Sri Lankans sit for. The pre performance pu