Rachel Weisz to Star in London's Streetcar Named Desire

Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz will star as Blanche DuBois in the West End’s forthcoming production of A Streetcar Named Desire. The revival of the famed Tennessee Williams play, directed by Broadway veteran Rob Ashford, will debut in July at London’s Donmar Warehouse. Additional casting and production dates will be announced at a future date.

Weisz was last seen on the London stage as Evelyn in the Almeida Theatre’s production of Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things, a role which won her a Theatre World Award during the show’s run off-Broadway in 2002. Weisz also played the part in the 2003 film adaptation of the play. Additional screen credits include About a Boy, Constantine, The Constant Gardener, which won the actress a 2005 Academy Award, The Mummy and The Fountain.

Streetcar originally debuted at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on December 3, 1947. The drama, directed by Elia Kazan, famously starred Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski, Jessica Tandy as Blanche DuBois and Kim Hunter as Stella Kowalski, playing 855 performances before closing on December 17, 1949. The show won the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for drama, and was adapted to film in 1951, with Brando and Hunter joined by actress Vivien Leigh as Blanche. The film received 12 Academy Award nominations, with Leigh and Hunter winning for Best Actress in Leading and Supporting roles, respectively.

In addition to Leigh and Tandy, Weisz follows in the footsteps of Uta Hagen, Tallulah Bankhead, Rosemary Harris, Ann-Margret, Blythe Danner, Jessica Lange and Natasha Richardson, who have all played Blanche DuBois on stage or screen.