A streetcar named desire

"I don't want realism. I want magic!" - Blanche du Bois

Oh Blanche, poor messed up, manipulative Blanche - she never found her magic. Tennesse Williams may have been a magician with words but what he wrote was gritty, tragic realism.

Last year, for Christmas, the lovely Cath gave Tim and I tickets to the Sydney Theatre Company's production of A Streetcar Named Desire. The kids were a little worried at first. They thought it was called A Streaker Named Desire. Well there was no streaker - although we did see a bare bottom!

It was a great production with Joel Edgerton, Robin McLeavy and Cate Blanchett as the main trio and directed by Liv Ullman. But in true Tennessee Williams form it is an utter tragedy. Leaving aside the issues of Old Southern gentility vs the New America, the thread of deliberate cruelty vs kindness was the theme that resonated with me. I'm still thinking about it.

Anyone else catch the play? What did you think?