Video: Paul Mescal and Company Celebrate Opening Night of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
Mar 14, 2025
Tennessee Williams is back onstage in New York City. Following sold-out runs in London's West End, a revival of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Rebecca Frecknall and starring Oscar nominee Paul Mescal. Watch in this video as we take you inside opening night with the full company.
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0:00
It's a dream come true
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Drama school, in my mind, didn't feel like all that long ago
0:06
We're doing an American classic in the Lions Den. It feels... If I could have drawn this out to happen in my career
0:15
I kind of would have been over the moon. So the fact that we're here doing it now
0:19
it really is and sounds maybe overly sincere, but it is a dream come true, yeah
0:26
Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World, following a critically acclaimed sold-out run in London's West End
0:32
Rebecca Frecknell's Olivier Award-winning production of Tennessee Williams' classic, a street car named Desire, has come to BAM
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And we're here on Openy Night to celebrate with the company, led by Paul Meskell
0:44
It's really exciting, and I think this is our fourth time mounting this production over two years
0:50
And it will be our last time that we do it, and it feels so exciting to be here and in this space doing it
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and all with the original company of actors. and it just feels like a space
1:00
the Harvey at Bam feels like it's really akin to the Almada where the production was originally born
1:04
They kind of feel like sister spaces to me. They feel like they've got so much history
1:08
and so much poetry within them. So the production just sits here really effortlessly
1:13
and we're really thrilled to be able to bring this to New York. There's such muscularity to his writing
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but such poetry as well. And I just think no one writes like him and the way that he conjures worlds is just so painfully beautiful
1:26
So it's just wonderful to go. get to revel in the text and to work with these brilliant actors on bringing out all the detail and the beauty And there a quiet profundity to his work I think he really speaks to the human condition And you really feel his soul in the room as well So it really important I think to conjure those things for a new audience
1:42
to just, like, show them how brilliantly talented these writers are from this era
1:48
Sharing the stage with this incredible company of actors. Tell me why that's been like
1:53
I mean, I would be surprised if I ever got to work with a company as great as this
1:58
like the rest of my life. We've been in and out of each other's lives for two years
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I think we really feel the benefit of that time. It's an incredible experience
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not one that I think any of us have had where we've been thinking and percolating on this play for two years
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So it allows us to go into an opening night with full confidence, like whatever people say about it
2:19
this is, I think, the best iteration of this production that we have done as a company
2:24
Not the best, like, you know what I mean? Like the four places that we've played it, I feel like we're finishing it with a bang
2:28
where we know these characters. much better than we did when we first started in the Almeida
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They're extraordinary actors, Ange, Patz, Dwayne, like real theatre animals who can just turn a play on a diamond
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and their choices with the characters are endlessly thrilling to me. And sometimes it's difficult to be within it
2:51
because you're watching people, I think, at the peak of their powers. And we collectively just love each other
2:57
So it's a great experience. It's a weird position to be in because I've always..
3:04
I am an actor Like I not doing this to kind of gain credibility in terms of anything It just this is one of the great plays I want to do it But it is inspiring to me to see a younger audience
3:17
coming out because I said to somebody further down the line that I think it validates your
3:24
opinion as a young creative if you're seeing people from your demographic around you. And look
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theatre has always been something that is skewed older. So as long as I'm doing plays, which I
3:35
like I think whatever happens my career will always return to the stage
3:40
and hopefully be able to announce something sooner rather than later but it's a play
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I just adore being on stage and as you said bringing a younger audience
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has been incredibly inspiring to me because it means that something something is working in the work
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that I'm making that people want to come and see it which is great this is the best company in the world
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I look forward to going on stage every single night. Confession, I don't always love performing
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I love rehearsals and I love plays and I love process. But stay performing in front of an audience is something I somewhat tolerate
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And then cut to doing this. I look forward to doing it every single night because this is the most amazing company
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Paul, Anjana, the whole ensemble, they're so talented, so playful. and we love each other, so we feel safe
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And it's just a joy. I'm pinching myself. I can believe we doing a great American play a bunch of Brits over here attempting your greatest play And what a beautiful play And what a beautiful theatre to be opening in It a privilege
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And talking about working with your director. Rebecca Franklin. This is my second time working with Rebecca
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And I first worked with her when she was an assistant director. And I always knew she had something
5:01
And I always knew that she was going to do this play one day. So it was like a really full circle moment for me when she asked me to be a part of it
5:08
I just knew that this was a play that she was going to explore one day
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It's been really exciting because I think quite a lot of young people are coming in to see these actors and be in the room with them
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And what we've found is people are coming to see Paul or to see Anjana or Pazzi
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and they're discovering the play. And so actually the real star is Tennessee Williams
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And that's really exciting to me because I really, you know, as you say, we all remember that first time where you saw something
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and it just captured your imagination and your heart in that moment and maybe people are then going to go on to, you know
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whether or not they have careers in the theatre, it doesn't matter, but I do think live theatre just has the capability to change people's lives
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And so I think it's really brilliant that people, particularly, you know, movie actors and people that do a lot of screenwork
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that they still come back to the live experience because it does bring the next generation in
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because there's an excitement about seeing these people do it for real
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and spending that time with them for real in the room and really going on that journey and seeing that they really have that craft to do that
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and these guys really have that craft to do that. But you then get to discover new world
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that you wouldn't have, you know, you wouldn't have gone to see necessarily. So it has been amazing
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It's been galvanising, like, a really young crowd who are really falling in love with the writing as well
6:16
which is kind of amazing. And I hope they come back and see other classics for it
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