Directed by Weyni Mengesha
Written by Tennessee Williams
Presented by Soulpepper Theatre Company
Featuring Akosua Amo-Adem, Lead Doz, Mac Fyfe, Sebastian Marziali, Gregory Prest, Amy Rutherford, SATE, Lindsay Owen Pierre, Oliver Dennis, Kaleb Horn
Set: Lorenzo Savoini
Lights: Kimberly Purtell
Costumes: Rachel Forbes
Sound: Debashis Sinha
Fight Director: Simon Fon
Received 6 Dora nominations including Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Production
Received 5 2019 Critics’ Picks Award nominations including Outstanding Direction
Voted 1 of the top 10 Toronto theatre shows of the decade by Now Toronto Magazine
Best Lead Performance in a Play, Amy Rutherford (Soulpepper Theatre)
“It’s a brilliant piece of theatre, thanks to Mengesha’s deft, subtle modernization. There are no smartphones in this Streetcar, but Stella does wear short shorts, and strains of Cardi B can be heard in an opening sequence. These contemporary touches are discreet; paired with Williams’ original script (without revisions to dated slang), this production embraces a devious timelessness, seeming at once aged and disturbingly current.
Mengesha’s experimentations with both the play’s original period and the present moment are much more provocative, precluding any kind of privileged spectatorship.”
Intermission Magazine
“Mengesha’s production blazes, not because it’s updated, but because it’s alive.”
Cushman Collected
“Directed by Soulpeppers new artistic director Weyni Mengesha, this production of the Tennessee Williams classic is, quite simply, a revelation.”
”Mengesha’s bold, game-changing version announces itself in the opening moments”
Now Magazine
“Mengesha’s interpretation of A Streetcar Named Desire reflects extraordinary insight into both the Soulpepper microcosm and the Toronto theatrical landscape in a larger sense. She’s called on the company’s top tier music director (Mike Ross) and lead designer (Lorenzo Savoini) and given them plenty to do in a production that integrates music beautifully to capture a sense of place beyond the little apartment set and interacts with the little apartment set to haunting theatrical effect...”
My Entertainment World
“To anyone who has never seen Streetcar, Soulpepper’s new production is a gift.”
Broadway World
“Her production is unrelenting in its energy, infusing the well-known story of a breakdown of class, morals and expectations with the life of its New Orleans setting.”
“Soulpepper makes A Streetcar Named Desire, one of the most famous plays in English theatre, feel new”
Toronto Star
