A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1949)

Vivien Leigh: Blanche is a woman with everything stripped away. She is a tragic figure and I understand her. But playing her tipped me into madness.

Book by: Tennessee Williams

Directed: Laurence Olivier

Managing Director: Prince Littler

General Manager: Frederick Carter

Licensed by: the Lord Chamberlain to D. A. Abrahams

Wigs: Stanley Hall

Opened: Aldwych Theatre, London, October 11, 1949

Cast: Vivien Leigh (as Blance DuBois), Bonar Colleano (Stanley Kowalski), Bernard Braden (Mitch), and Renee Asherson (as Stella)

The first day of the run-through

Vivien dressed down for the rehearsals, the better to meet the challenge which playing Blanche represented. Bernard Braden, cast as Mitch, in the play, recall her arriving on the first day of the run-through wearing a simple black jersey dress. Renee Asherson, playing Blanches's sister, remarked (none too tactfully perhaps, given Vivien's abhorrence of such terms): "That's a pretty dress." Vivien took the compliment and replied in sombre tones to match her costume: "I'm glad you like it, because you're going to see a lot of it." *

Comments

Stanley Hall (the London wig-maker): She had crinkly hair, generally not very good hair. She disliked it and it required a lot of attention. But as she was determined this should be a brilliant performance, she did everything she could to help herself got into character and this included bleaching her own hair. I made her a dark wig to wear during the day. A little later, when she came to the film, I made her bleached wigs, because the idea was that Blanche should have ragged-looking hair, like someone who had gone through life neglecting herself. She used to send the wigs back from Hollywood, by air mail, to be cleaned and redressed by me - didn't trust the American hairdressers. *
* Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh
by Alexander Walker
page 197
Copyright 1987 by Conundrum Limited

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