A Streetcar Named Desire

The play, set in New Orleans in the 1940's is about a woman (Blanche) who travels to stay with her pregnant sister Stella and husband Stanley. The characters being analyzed on tension by the director throughout the play are Blanche, Stanley, Mitch and Stella. As the play progresses, relationships between these characters change drastically as lies, manipulation and deceit arise from Blanche's personality. Her mental illness is discovered and she is eventually pushed over the edge and taken away to get professional help. Stanley and Stella are deeply in love and completely happy together, despite living in a shabby, insignificant, two room flat. Stella is a calm-natured, forgiving woman and all is well until Stanley's alcoholic, abusive side comes out when he is driven to the edge by Blanche's intrusion. Mitch is a gentle, quiet man, dedicating his time to looking after his ill mother, who would love nothing more than to see Mitch settle down with a nice woman. Mitch is also driven to the edge by Blanche as the play progresses and a different side of him is revealed. Director Haplin has used tension very effectively in the play to reveal the changing relationships between these characters to create an enjoyable experience for the audience.

Tension of relationships (mystery) with Stanley and Blanche was used effectively in the play by director Haplin, keeping the audience intrigued and anxious to see what would happen next. A primary example of this was when Blanche first arrived, as Stanley had no idea that she was even coming to stay with them, or why. Stanley's curiosity showed when he played 20 questions with Blanche, causing her to stutter. Another example was when she explained that their home in Belle Reve had been lost. Stanley was suspicious as to why there was no money or paperwork to show for it. Stanley was then much more confronting and suspicious about Blanche.

This was shown early on in the play when Blanche was soaking in the bath tub and Stanley lost his temper whilst speaking to Stella. He started rummaging through Blanche's trunk, pulling out her expensive jewelery and coats, mystified by how the items were payed for. As the tension built throughout the play, Stanley would stare at Blanche with a spiteful look and long silences, causing tension both on stage and in the audience. Towards the end of the play, Blanche was either making sure she was out of Stanley's way or attempting to break the ice as if they had just met. An example of this was the scene of Blanche's birthday and she tried encouraging Stanley to tell a story but failed and decided to tell one of her own, with over-exaggerated, excited movements and open body language.

This allowed the audience to relax. However tension was successfully created in such a short time by Stanley as he threw and smashed a plate and his temper blows. The mystery towards the end of the play was to an extreme extent, with Stanley so determined to get Blanche out of his and Stella's lives that it became impossible to predict what would happen next. Tension of mystery was extremely well produced by director Haplin and very intelligently done.

Director Haplin has used tension of relationships (conflict) within Blanche, Stanley and Stella to effectively show differences in their personalities and reveal their intentions throughout the play. When Blanche arrived, she was nervous around Stanley as he asked so many questions. This showed through her pausing and stuttering. She was also disgusted at the state her sister was living in. Despite this, she was her usual flirty self, floating around the room and Stella couldn't be happier to see her. Stanley was polite until he started noticing that things didn't make sense and that his and Stella's relationship and lifestyle were being affected. An example of this was when Stanley becomes extremely drunk and hits Stella; his pregnant wife. Despite this, Stella's love for Stanley showed as she returned to him from the flat upstairs some hours later and defended his actions when Blanche tried to convince her to leave Stanley and move away with her the next morning. This showing what she thought of Stanley as a husband and father figure. Stanley also wants Blanche to be out of their lives and their home, although Stella is an obstacle and is appalled at the way Stanley treats Blanche. An example of Stanley's disgust of Blanche was when he gave her a bus ticket back to Laurel as her birthday gift, causing a major upset in the Kowalski household.

Also, in one of the last scenes, Stanley lets all of his accusations out and sexually assaults Blanche. When Stella returns home the next morning after having her baby, it is obvious that she has a notion that this event had taken place but knows that it would be more logical to ignore it for her future's sake. Towards the end, a little game was created as Stanley knew he would benefit over a mentally unstable woman. The relationships between these characters went from being friendly, leading to offensive and impolite at many times, until in the end, fighting over Stella. Tension of conflict between the characters was taken to extremes, causing Stella to be caught in the middle, even though primarily oblivious to it. The tension was incredibly well created, keeping the audience on edge about what would happen next.

Director Jon Haplin has effectively used tension of relationships (misunderstanding) to reveal changes in Mitch and Blanches attitudes and mannerisms toward each other. For example, when Blanche was introduced to Stanley's friend Mitch, she was flirty towards him and Mitch fell for her. The situation then became awkward. For example, when the boys came over to have their poker night, Mitch went to the toilet twice within 5 minutes just to see Blanche and would talk quietly and walk slowly around her, this indicating that Mitch was obviously attracted to her. The audience could easily recognize Blanche's flirty behavior by the way she was moving slower and more graciously around the room.

As the play progressed and Blanche and Mitch's relationship developed, more traits were found out about her and were revealed to both Mitch and the audience by Stanley. For example, Blanche refused to be seen in the light and did everything in her power to prevent Mitch from discovering her age, as she was embarrassed. Blanche's movements changed from being flirtatious to closed body language, walking at a faster pace and would refrain from making eye contact with Mitch where possible. Mitch was no longer quiet and calm as he felt he had been betrayed and lied to. He became confronting and vicious toward Blanche by raising his voice and invading her space. Thus causing Blanche to have closed body language and moving sharply away from Mitch. Both Blanche and Mitch raised their voices at each other causing tension to build. Blanche and Mitch's relationship went from being enticing and gentle to being extremely hostile. Tension of misunderstanding was shown effectively and underlying by the director throughout the play.

"A Streetcar Named Desire" shows clear examples of tension in relationships, setting an intense mood for both the actors and audience consistently throughout the play. The different elements of tension have been shown very effectively by director Haplin to produce a worthwhile, unforgettable, truthful play for people to experience.