TEHRAN – Mashayekhi Theater hosted theatergoers on Monday evening with a performance of “A Streetcar Named Desire”, American playwright Tennessee Williams’ famous play which has been previously been staged at several other Tehran’s theaters.

Mehdi Asgharian is the director of the play, which is scheduled to entertain theater enthusiasts every evening until October 26.

Asgharian also plays a role in the play along with his cast featuring Amir Bashirenejad, Hossein Akbari, Shima Khaleqi, Romina Qalevand, Sarina Gudarzi and several other actors.

“A Streetcar Named Desire” tells the story of Blanche DuBois, a schoolteacher from Laurel, Mississippi, who arrives at the New Orleans apartment of her younger sister, Stella, and her abusive husband Stanley Kowalski. 

Blanche has been fired from her job and lost their family home and she has decided to live with her pregnant sister and Stanley, for an indefinite period of time. 

Published in 1947, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and has garnered numerous Tony and Olivier awards since its first production.

The play was adapted for the screen by American director Elia Kazan in 1951 and has won four Academy Awards.    

“A Streetcar Named Desire” has previously been regarded by several other Iranian troupes.

One of the latest was director Alireza Mehran’s group, which performed an adaptation of the play at Tehran’s Neauphle-le-Chateau Hall in June 2019.

He renamed the play “Desire and 7 Minutes” for his production.

Earlier in August 2017, the Niavaran Cultural Center hosted director Mohsen Hajnoruzi for the play translated by Marjan Bakhtminu.

Photo: A poster for Tennessee Williams’ play “A Streetcar Named Desire” on stage at Mashayekhi Theater in Tehran.

MMS/YAW