A Streetcar Named Desire

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE The famous psychological drama about the clash of desire and loss written by Tennessee Williams, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize (1948) and other awards. The play narrates a story of two sisters, fragile and lonely Blanche and her married sister Stella, in whose family Blanche seeks safety and a new future. Weaving an illusory present out of her constant desires, Blanche faces a cruel clash with reality impersonated by her sister’s harsh and animalist husband Stanley, who firmly rejects any romantic views of life. Beyond collecting material possessions, Stanley is determined to uncover the mystery of Stella’s past, which ultimately distorts the lives of all the characters in an agonizing and uncompromising plot twist just as Blanche is about to begin a hopeful future in the company of the shy bachelor Mitch. Blanche strives to keep her composure and pretended self-image, but her wounded soul deafeningly breaks down under the weigh of her past and present experiences. The new, contemporary translation by Ester Žantovská and the dynamic direction by Anna Davidová underlines the infamous and topical line in the sisters’ story about crash with reality: the lost cause of an over-cultivated powerlessness facing fierce aggression and animalism.

The set designer created the Kowalskis’ home out of three pass-through container units of different widths. Their cross-section provides a view into the bedroom with a mattress randomly tossed on the ground, as well as into the cramped living room or a tiny bathroom. The grey corrugated metal walls and simple furnishings of the shabby apartment correspond to the Kowalskis’ rather straightforward relationship, whose rudimentary life is limited to work, the basic necessities of life, and sexual urges – until Blanche arrives. (…) Anna Davidová’s production feels very dark, almost hopeless, yet the director’s intense and authentic portrayal of human pain conveys a profound human message about the need for understanding and compassion for vulnerable, non-conformist individuals. The audience – and not only theatre professionals! – is clearly carried away by the message.
PAVLA BERGMANNOVÁ, Divadelní noviny

Davidová’s direction often goes against the audience’s conforming expectations. She brings her own inventiveness to the work especially through the set design, which immediately arouses curiosity as to her directorial and dramaturgical approach to the seminal work of American drama.
TOMÁŠ VINCENEC, divabaze.cz

ANNA DAVIDOVÁ (1984) Director known for her innovative approach to theatre work, characterized by a profound psychological immersion and a strong visual aspect. Davidová is the daughter of director J. A. Pitínský. She studied drama direction under Peter Mikulík at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, where she graduated in 2008 with the productions Hedda Gabler and Casablanca. Already her early works staged at professional theatres engaged the audiences’ interest thanks to their temperament, dreamlike imagery and atmosphere, and she soon became one of the leading talents of her generation. In 2010, Davidová was nominated for the Slovak Theatre Award DOSKY for her production of Nora staged at the National Theatre Košice. She had been nominated twice for the Alfréd Radok Award as Talent of the Year, and finally received the award in 2014, by that time rebranded as The Theatre Critics’ Award. She has a long history of successful collaborations with leading Czech and Slovak theatres, such as the Dejvice Theatre, Theatre on the Balustrade, Švandovo Theatre, Slovak National Theatre, National Theatre Brno, National Moravian-Silesian Theatre and other venues. The scope of her work is remarkably broad, ranging from intimate productions on studio stages (the Masopust theatre company, A Studio Rubín, etc.) to Mozart’s opera Così fan tutte, which she directed at the invitation of Jiří Heřman for the NT Brno Opera in 2018. In 2019–2021 she was also the artistic director of the Goose on a String Theatre in Brno.

SLOVÁCKO THEATRE has repeatedly demonstrated that its significance goes far beyond that of a regional theatre. Under the artistic direction of Lukáš Kopecký, it invites experienced directors as well as rising stars with a fresh perspective. The alternative dramaturgical line, SloffÁCKO THEATRE, offers contemporary plays in non-traditional spaces (a rock club, a school classroom). It presents its work at leading festivals. Together with the Zlín City Theatre it organises the ZARÁZ festival, at which they present their best productions to a specialist public.