Theatre Calgary’s A Streetcar Named Desire portrays an emotional story of domestic and personal strife
By Hannah Caparino, February 12 2025—
Disclaimer: A Streetcar Named Desire has depictions of domestic and sexual violence, as well as substance abuse; please approach this show with care and be mindful of the heavy subject matter. If any audience members require resources or help, Alberta Health Services provides resources for both addiction and mental health. For resources and contact information regarding domestic abuse, click here.
Now showing at Theatre Calgary, Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire is a gripping tale, a representation of the complicated relationships and individual wounds. In the play, audiences are transported to New Orleans in the 1950s, focusing on Blanche DuBois’ arrival in the city to live with her sister Stella Kowalski and her husband Stanley.
The cast includes Lindsey Angell as the titular character Blanche DuBois, Heidi Damayo as Stella Kowalski and Stafford Perry as Stanley Kowalski. Angell portrays Blanche with an insistent and superior manner in the first act of the play, exploring how she continues to be haunted by her past and lost love. Damayo has worked with Theatre Calgary for their production of Little Women in a supporting role as one of the March sisters, and manages to steal the show as Stella, who is characterized as patient, dismissive, and affectionate. Perry is incredibly aggressive and captures Stanley’s rage through control over his voice and mannerisms.
The storyline continues to display a fragile domestic setting that thrives on attraction, choice and love. The set of the play has two levels, where the first floor reveals a small two bedroom apartment. Audiences peer into the lives of Blanche and the Kowalskis, where the set is dressed with a messy kitchen and plain bedroom that is separated by a singular curtain. A translucent screen displays a background of the Belle Reve house metaphorically burning to the ground, acting as a painful reminder of the lavish life that Blanche and Stella once had.
Secrets are the driving force of the story as audiences watch Blanche’s character unravel due to her agonising past continuing to add a layer of mystery regarding her arrival and stay in the Kowlaskis’ home. Blanche’s ability to adapt and find comfort in surrounding herself with precious goods and vices allows her to leave the troubles of her past behind. Audiences watch Blanche fully explore all that New Orleans has to offer with a sense of trepidation and paranoia, despite the vibrant and open nightlife paired with jazz performances which are beautifully performed by Katelyn Morishita who plays Eunice Hubble. While Stella is tolerant of her sister’s habits, Blanche is the primary catalyst for domestic strife between Stella and Stanley. Blanche aims to start anew in New Orleans, but Stanley is on a mission to discover Blanche’s past and her true intentions for why she came to their home with nothing to her name.
The drama is intense and reaches an all-time high through multiple screaming matches and physical altercations between characters. The hostility and violence is difficult to watch but the sound of the loud crashing of kitchen items are complemented by a soft repeating polka tune that anchors Blanche’s descent into her mind and illusion. Damayo’s dedication to playing Stella as a sympathetic sister and maternal-like figure for Blanche outweighs her role as a devoted wife who challenges Stanley’s authority. Damayo’s emotion in the final moments of the play makes her performance extremely magnetic: all eyes are drawn to the bottom of the steps where she cries as her sister leaves.
A Streetcar Named Desire is showing at Theatre Calgary from Jan. 28 to Feb. 23. Tickets for this show and more information about upcoming shows are available on their website.