A Streetcar Named Desire

When asked by journalists what his play "A Streetcar Named Desire" was about, Pulitzer Prize laureate Tennessee Williams replied, “It is a plea for the understanding of delicate people.”

The arrival of Blanche DuBois, an aristocratic woman of French descent, shakes the very core of the New Orleans underworld. The unwelcome guest takes refuge in the home of her sister Stella and Stella’s husband, Stanley Kowalski – a Polish-American by birth.

From the very first encounter, a profound existential clash erupts between Stanley and Blanche.
How will this duel end? What fate awaits Blanche? “They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries…,” says the heroine.

Desire and the search for love – as a reflection of trauma. Yet the violence Blanche faces is, in its own way, a reflection of the humiliated.
The production becomes a journey through the innermost chambers of the subconscious, seeking an answer to the question of how one lives with their vulnerability and delicacy in the face of violence. Is vulnerability a weakness – or the courage to remain oneself despite fear of judgement and rejection?

Tennessee Williams was born in 1911 in Columbus, Mississippi, where his grandfather served as an Episcopal priest. A few years later, his father, a travelling salesman, moved the family to St Louis, where both Tennessee and his sister found it impossible to adapt to city life. Williams entered college during the Great Depression, leaving a few years later to take a clerical position at a shoe company, spending his evenings writing.

In 1938, he enrolled at the University of Iowa, completing his degree while working various part-time jobs. In 1940, his play "Battle Of Angels" earned him a Rockefeller Fellowship. For a time, he lived in the French Quarter of New Orleans, initially at 722 Toulouse Street – the very setting for his 1977 play "Vieux Carré". From 1944 to 1945, his play "The Glass Menagerie" ran in Chicago to great acclaim before transferring to Broadway, where it continued its success.

In 1948, Tennessee Williams received the Pulitzer Prize for "A Streetcar Named Desire" and, in 1955, for "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof". Following his early triumph, more of his plays became Broadway hits, including "Summer And Smoke" (1948), "The Rose Tattoo" (1951), and "Camino Real" (1953).

When "The Glass Menagerie" and "A Streetcar Named Desire" were adapted for the screen in 1950 and 1951, Williams’ works reached audiences across the globe. Later, "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" (for which Williams won his second Pulitzer), "Orpheus Descending", "The Night Of The Iguana", "Summer And Smoke", "The Rose Tattoo", and "The Glass Menagerie" were also adapted for film.

Tennessee Williams died in 1983.

The University of the South
The University of the South, a nationally ranked liberal arts college and Episcopal seminary, is the beneficiary of Tennessee Williams’ estate, including the copyrights to all his works. This gift was made in honour of Williams’ grandfather, the Reverend Walter E. Dakin, who attended the University’s seminary in 1895.
The Walter E. Dakin Memorial Fund is used to support the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference, and the School of Letters. The Fund also provides scholarships for students wishing to pursue creative work, as well as fellowships awarded annually to emerging playwrights and authors. Among its fellows are Ann Patchett, Claire Messud, Tony Earley, and Mark Richard. The Tennessee Williams Center encompasses the university’s Department of Theatre, and part of the Walter E. Dakin Fund supports the department and its theatrical productions.