Scottish Ballet brought Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s successful 2012 production of A Streetcar Named Desire to Sadler’s Wells and made an indelible impression on the first night audience, who were on their feet at the end. It proves only too clearly that Diaghilev’s theory about collaboration being key to a favourable outcome during the creative process really is true.
Lopez Ochoa teamed up with theatre director Nancy Meckler to make Tennessee Williams’ play digestible through the art of dance. Together with Peter Salem’s evocative original score, Nicola Turner’s uncluttered yet hugely effective sets and costumes and lighting designs that are pure wizardry by Tim Mitchell, we were instantly transported to Mississippi or New Orleans. And it was easy to feel the steam rolling off the stage and coiling around our necks.
There is so much that is good about this production that it’s easy to forget it’s ultimately a tragic tale of what, in today’s terms, would be considered serial abuse and the mental breakdown of a young woman. It’s starkly in evidence too that Stanley, the perpetrator and main protagonist, is not just a violent rapist but is coercively controlling Stella, the mother of his child.
It’s mostly about Blanche DuBois, Stella's older sister, innocent and naive at the beginning, falling in love with Alan and marrying him only to discover that he is in a secretive, homosexual affair with Jeff. When she rejects Alan, he despairs and shoots himself. His ghostly apparition haunts Blanche, as she drifts into a life of promiscuity and alcoholism.
Lopez Ochoa has drawn the characters in exceptional detail and every piece of the drama is coherently communicated. We became emotionally invested in the characters from the opening moments. We see Blanche reaching up to a bare light bulb, like a fluttering moth, drawn to the light that will eventually extinguish anything that flies too close. Some of the best choreographic moments came during the duets. Stanley seducing Stella in a pas de deux that is so intoxicating that you understand her succumbing to his advances. And then a totally different, visceral response was required when he rapes Blanche. Much in the same way that MacMillan always leaves the audience in no doubt about what is being enacted, so Lopez Ochoa is able to graphically simulate a sexual act, without explicitly showing it.
For all the excellent storytelling, the cleverly constructed choreography and the other components that made this such a compelling experience, it was the dancers themselves who tipped it into a riveting watch. The ensemble each carry their own backstories and seemed immersed in whatever was unfolding in their lives. The roles of Alan, Blanche’s doomed husband and his lover Jeff, Javier Andreu and Aarón Venegas respectively, were not only convincingly acted but supremely well danced. From neat fifth positions, high and explosive jumps with inaudible landings to beautiful arabesques and stretched feet, these two men were exemplary and look set for greater things.
Thomas Edwards as Mitch, the man who could have saved Blanche from her self-destruction, also showed off an immaculate and occasionally daring technique. However, it was the warmth of his personality that was most persuasive. His awkward attempts at wooing Blanche could have been cringeworthy, but instead further endeared him towards us. Claire Souet imbued the role of Stella with a sense of ambivalence, indecision reigning. Her switching loyalties from Blanche to Stanley, back and forth, were depicted with such spontaneity that rather than feel she should be able to see through any deceptions, her actions prompted empathy.
Within such a strong cast, it is even more surprising that the two principals still shone so brightly. Evan Loudon as Stanley, had a tough challenge ahead of him. He's an unpleasant, uncouth brute and we did not like him. Yet, his handsome, athletic form and command of the stage were conversely alluring. He too, is a tremendous dancer and partner and, thrillingly, he didn't even attempt to charm, odious from the outset. Hearing him scream, “Stella, Stella...” in a horribly gruff, abusive tone was enough to seal his universal condemnation. The way he patted her behind, like an obedient dog, made me shudder.
However, the evening belonged to Marge Hendrick as Blanche. She is tall and statuesque with crisp, elegant technique. Yet all these attributes diminished as she plunged into the character, living and breathing her every moment. One can imagine that this could be a draining experience. She is on stage for most of the evening but Kendrick did not escape Blanche for one second. A real tour de force.
A triumph of drama and dance, the Scottish Ballet Orchestra, conducted by Robert Baxter, complemented the action.
