A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

          'A deeply passionate and beautiful interpretation. Director, Deborah Edgington, created an intense
          mood and a powerful authenticity central to the play.'      
          The Hampshire Chronicle

Best Director Nomination - The Daily Echo

Cast:
Connie Cha (Blanche Dubois) Lee Ruttle (Stanley Kowalski)
Charlotte Gatherer (Stella Kowalski) Martin Humphrey (Harold Mitchell - Mitch) Rachel O'Neill (Eunice Hubbel) Peter Andrews (Steve Hubbel)
Hannah Matheson (Young Woman/Nurse) Simon Irwin (Pablo/Mexican Seller)
Sam Borthwick (Young Collector) Martin Bennett (Doctor)

Creatives:
Director: Deborah Edgington
Designer: Duncan Willson
Sound and Lighting design: Tony Rogers
Fight Director: Paul Benzing
Videographer: Tony Rogers
Costumes: Miriam Swanston
Props: Lorraine Robinson
Accent Coach: Sian Radinger
Stage Manager: David Small
ASM: Peter Walker
Production Photography: © Richard Budd

Chesil Theatre
May 2013

"I don't want realism. I want magic!
Yes, yes, magic!"

Fading southern belle, Blanche Dubois, tries leaving a troubled past behind her to move in with her sister, Stella, in New Orleans. But Stella's brutish husband, Stanley, sees that Blanche is not what she appears to be and sets out to destroy her.

A Streetcar Named Desire had been one of Deborah's favourite plays for a very long time, so it was not unsurprising that she chose Tennessee Williams' iconic, albeit ambitious play, for her directorial debut in 2013.

Read the reviews

         'Director, Deborah 
          Edgington, brought this
          challenging play to life
          and elicited moving and
          convincing
          performances from the
          entire ensemble.'     

          The Daily Echo

This was the opening video sequence to Deborah's stage production of A Streetcar Named Desire, depicting Blanche and Stella at their home, Belle Reve, in happier times. The video goes on to show the sisters with their parents who, one by one, disappear from the frame. Deborah wanted to illustrate each family member leaving Belle Reve. The video then cuts to the vibrant city of New Orleans where the sound of the 'blue piano' spills out onto the streets.

As the music fades, imagine the stage lights going up on the opening scene... Eunice and a neighbour taking in the sultry evening air on the steps of the building where Stella and Stanley live; Stanley hollers out to Stella that he and Mitch are going bowling. Meanwhile, Blanche has taken a streetcar named Desire, and then transferred to one called Cemeteries and ridden six blocks to get off at - Elysian Fields! She has arrived unexpectedly to stay with her sister...

Videographer and sound designer: Tony Rogers

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