A Streetcar Named Desire - Almeida / Phoenix / Noel Coward

Stanley in Streetcar has always been cast with actors who are fairly attractive like Marlon Brando, Ben Foster etc in the past.

Saw the last show at the Almeida, and it was so good that I'm crying that the West End transfer is sold out (just joking, I'd love to go again but I appreciate what I've already had) just like I was crying when the lights went down (not joking, I was in floods).

I duly changed my 4 star preview assessment to a 5 star assessment cos tonight was theatrical perfection.

Give Patsy Ferran and Rebecca Frecknall the Olivier already! And nominate Paul Mescal and Anjana Vasan, as well, why don't you lol?

Some spoilers follow. . .

I mean, Paul Mescal's Stanley calls Patsy Ferran's Blanche a "canary bird" and it felt just right for this production.

Not just cos she's trapped like a canary. Not just cos she sings her memory of her lost love like a canary.

But also cos birds are so aware of being watched. If you so much as look at a wild bird, that doesn't know you, it immediately flies away. And every single offstage character are staring poor Patsy Ferran down, so threateningly, from the sidelines, I couldn't help feel how badly she needed to fly away, and how sadly she couldn't.

Blanche calls Stanley an "ape," but Paul Mescal's Stanley is way scarier than an ape. He's like a cat, stalking that canary all round that stage, watching calmly and craftily, the way cats do before they pounce.

One great strength of the production is how judicious the production is about establishing how dangerous Mescal's Stanley is. He makes so few fast moves but when he does, they are so fast and violent, like a great big cat. (In preview, these movements were restricted, cos Ferran was carrying her book, and Mescal couldn't risk knocking it out of her hands lol). Maybe Mescal's Stanley is most like a Lion, cos at one point, all the characters bar Blanche (including Dwane Walcott's Mitch, who likes her, and even Vasan's Stella, her sister) all stand behind Mescal, as he smirks at Blanche, like they are all part of his pride.

The incessant drumbeats that signal danger would scare any real birds away, but like a canary, Ferran's Blanche is ever alert to this danger, but is too caged by circumstances to run.

The whole theatrical experience was overwhelmingly powerful, for me, in the Almeida tonight. All the actors were so wonderful in their roles, working so well in sync, the sound effects and lighting and pacing all so intense.

What a great great show! 5 stars from me, without a doubt!

I saw the matinée yesterday and WOW - what a production.

Patsy Ferran is absolutely incredible, and Mescal prowls around like a huge, muscular animal, frequently wrapping himself around the other characters like a giant spider.

An extremely intense watch, and I loved the use of the drums.

It gets the full five stars from me!

It's not a production that needs a deep set - about 6 or 7 paces each side.  If you brought it to the very front, that could help in a couple of respects.

How many actually sat in 'the round' (as opposed to regular seating), not many. From a practical pov not sure it's a big issue.

From an artistic pov - and to continue the point about openness and 'not behind closed doors' - Frecknall obv. likes the vibe of the cast being witness to most events, and she reinforces that with a rounded audience. Maybe there is space to squeeze in a row or two on stage at the Phoenix. Unusual and maybe impractical but, given the artistic emphasis, she might want to if possible ..

I caught the final matinee and it's a solid 4 stars.

Ferran is (as expected) terrific - I did spend the show wondering how much of her Blanche is the one she would have discovered if she'd been in the rehearsals from the beginning, and how much of it was the one Lydia Wilson was doing and thus she had to step into - either way she is as ever, nothing less than great.

I liked Paul Mescal but thought the star of the show really was Anjana Vasan - I've never really felt Stella was an equal third, but Vasan really makes the case for it being a leading trio.

hated the drummer with a passion (we get it, something bads gonna happen we don't need percussion) and a couple of production bits hampered it to keep it at 4 stars for me.

Fascinated to see how this will be restaged in a traditional set up.

Extra week added and additional tix on sale tomorrow!

Oops I misread! Monday indeed.

Those who signed up to mailing list are apparently entitled to buy tickets two hours earlier, but not sure about ATG members.

No member presale

New tickets released Monday 11 am. Email to arrive from ATG at 10.30. 13,000 tickets available, some for the extra week in May, some for existing performances now they know the set design.

I think the email is just the link to put you in the virtual waiting room to be assigned your random number.