KARACHI: Adapting a classic Tennessee Williams play is a daunting task. Winning a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948, A Street Car Named Desire incorporates distinct American themes. Adapting it for a Pakistani audience is a feat in itself considering the wide-range of emotions and punch the play packs, attracting audiences since it was staged in 1947 to rave reviews.

Director Sarah Saifi of Drama Queen Productions does a commendable job bringing together young actors to play roles much larger than their oeuvre.

However, this does not deter them from giving a performance worthwhile.

Sarah herself plays one of the most vital characters of the play, of the trusting Stella, younger sister of BlancheDuBois, who has left behind her aristocratic upbringing and willingly resigned herself to her inferior situation by marrying below her status.

Stella survives her crass surrounding with a mix of humour, resignation and escapism.

Right in the middle of her happily married life walks in Blanche, a troubled schoolteacher who has seen hard times enough to cause her an irreparable loss of her dreams and loosen her grip on reality. Mashal Khan plays herrole with aplomb, harnessing the hysteria bubbling underneath Blanche`s demeanour, which she loses grip on as the play proceeds.

There are moments of genuine wonder in her performance, when she 1(eeps her madness at bay, finding a happy place to survive, though not for long.

The one person who sees through Blanche`s self-assured façade is her brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski, husband of her younger sister, Stella.

Played by Kumay1 Zaidi, Stanley is a force no one wishes to stand up to.

Rough on the inside and out, he represents Blanche`s inner desires that she carefully suppresses. Kumay1 was probably the only actor who understood the necessity of the Southern drawl characteristic of his origins and is point on delivering his lines.

Unfortunately, this ends up highlightingthelackingofthe othercharacters` dialogue delivery.

Not that the other actors don`t deliver a decent performance. But Kumay1 harnesses the bestial energies and wreaks havoc on to the fragile hold Blanche has over herself and her surroundings. He is in his element every time he walks out on stage and shows a range in his acting prowess.

The cognitive artificiality that Blanche and Stella have clearly built on as a defence mechanism is in clear con-trast to the realism of the play`s setting.

The women live life half blind to the realities they are encumbered with.

One survives and the other doesn`t; the ability to blind oneself completely is what is necessary for survival and Blanche is unable to sustain this phenomenon.

An interesting element to the play was the live singing by the characters.

Though not a musical, the actors do break out into song and the overall impact is not jarring. In fact, it adds an appeal to the flawed characters. It allows them to exhibit a vulnerability that is lacking at many other instances.

Tennessee Williams is known for his allegories that represent the times the play is set in, and the charged sexual tension between characters. The intimacy between Stanley and Stella is admirable, and toxic, whichever way the viewer wishes to interpret it. The sexually charged scenes could have been more nuanced though.

Also, many dialogues were lost to the audience. The quick banter and exchanges between the characters need to be controlled in terms of delivery.

All in all, the production is a welcome addition to the young crop of actors and directors, who are much more willing to take a risk and push the conventional boundaries of theatre in Pakistan.

The play will continue till Aug 21.