stagecraft

a streetcar named desire

“The houses are…”

“…mostly white frame […] faded white stairs […] dim white building” - scene one, pg 1

“The ‘blue piano’ expresses…”

“…the spirit of life which goes on here.” - scene one, pg 1

“Two rooms can…”

“…be seen, not too clearly defined. The one first entered is primarily a kitchen but contains a folding bed to be used by BLANCHE.” - scene one, pg 4

“The music of the ‘blue piano’…”

“…grows louder. BLANCHE touches her handkerchief to her forehead.” - scene one, pg 11

“The music of the polka…”

“…rises up, faint in the distance.” - scene one, pg 15

“Over the yellow…”

“…linoleum of the kitchen table hans an electric bulb with a vivid green glass shade.” - scene three, pg 27

“The poker players - […]…”

“…wear coloured shirts, solid blues, a purple, a red-and-white check, a light green, and they are men at the peak of their physical manhood, as coarse and direct and powerful as the primary colours.” - scene three, pg 27

“The table is…”

“…sloppy with remains of breakfast and the debris of the preceding night, and STANLEY’s gaudy pyjamas lie across the threshold of the bathroom.” - scene four, pg 40

“As the lights…”

“…fade away, with a lingering brightness on their embrace, the music of the ‘blue piano’ and trumpet and drums is heard.” - scene four, pg 48

“There is a murmur…”

“…as they go slowly upstairs in a tight embrace.” - scene five, pg 52

“Polka music sounds,…”

“…in a minor key faint with distance. […] The polka stops abruptly. BLANCHE rises stiffly. Then the polka resumes in a major key.” - scene six, pg 67

“The distant piano goes…"

“…into a hectic breakdown.” - scene seven, pg 75

“The ‘Varsouviana’ is…”

“…heard, its music rising with sinister rapidity as the bathroom door opens slightly.” - scene eight, pg 82

“A distant revolver…”

“…shot is heard, BLANCHE seems relieved.” - scene nine, pg 84

“BLANCHE staggers…”

“…back from the window and falls to her knees. The distant piano is slow and blue.” - scene nine, pg 89

“Lurid reflections appear on the walls around…”

“…BLANCHE. The shadows are of a grotesque and menacing form.” - scene nine, pg 94

“The night is…”

“…filled with inhuman voices like cries in a jungle. The shadows and lurid reflections move sinuously as flames along the wall spaces.” - scene ten, pg 95

“Through the back wall…”

“…of the rooms, which have become transparent, can be seen the sidewalk. A prostitute has rolled a drunkard. He pursues her along the walk, overtakes her, and there is a struggle. A policeman’s whistle breaks it up. The figures disappear.” - scene ten, pg 95

“The barely audible…”

“…’blue piano’ begins to drum up louder.” - scene ten, pg 95

“The hot trumpet…”

“…and drums from the Four Deuces sound loudly.” - scene ten, pg 97

“The atmosphere of the kitchen…”

“…is now the same raw, lurid one of the disastrous poker night.” - scene ten, pg 98

“Lurid reflections appear on the walls in…”

“…odd, sinuous shapes. The ‘Varouviana’ is filtered into weird distortion, accompanied by the cries and noises of the jungle.” - scene ten, pg 104

“As he speaks…”

“…her name, her terror subsides a little. The lurid reflections fade from the walls, the inhuman cries and noises die out and her own hoarse crying is calmed.” - scene eleven, pg 106

“The luxurious sobbing,…”

“..the sensual murmur fade away under the swelling music of the ‘blue piano’ and the muted trumpet.” - scene eleven, pg 107