A new Nuffield Southampton Theatres (NST) co-production of Tennessee Williams’ timeless classic A Streetcar Named Desire opens at NST City on Wednesday, with previews from tonight.

The production will then tour the UK before returning to Southampton in the summer.

This new production of A Streetcar Named Desire is a co-production with Theatr Clwyd and English Touring Theatre and directed by Chelsea Walker, winner of the 2017 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award.

It is an adaptation set in modern New Orleans and featuring original music composed by up and coming jazz musician Nubya Garcia.

A Streetcar Named Desire is a raging portrayal of what it means to be an outsider in a society where we are all desperate to belong.

Director Chelsea Walker says: “A Streetcar Named Desire is a play which unpicks toxic ideas of masculinity, and explores the pressures society still heaps upon women.

“In the last year, we’ve seen an uprising of female voices protesting against systematic abuse.

“With these movements in mind, what pings out from Streetcar is Williams’ rage at a community’s complicity in a stream of violence towards its women.

“It also feels timely to examine the ways in which we treat people who are considered to be ‘outsiders’ and how the power structures present in our communities protect some individuals and ostracize others.”

“Every man is a King.” Stanley is no exception, until one summer when his sister-in-law Blanche comes to stay.

Anxious, seductive and fiercely clever, Blanche is just about keeping it together.

But her arrival threatens Stanley’s entire way of life.

As the summer heats up, and the games turn savage, a burning desire threatens to tear their world apart.

A Streetcar Named Desire is the second production in the inaugural season at NST’s brand new city centre theatre, NST City and runs until March 31.