Almeida Theatre cancels first week of Streetcar Named Desire as lead actor withdraws

Islington theatre brings in Patsy Ferran for lead part after Lydia Wilson pulls out
Almeida Theatre
Almeida Theatre
Adrian Lourie
William Mata8 December 2022

The Almeida Theatre has cancelled its first week of performances of A Streetcar Named Desire after actress Lydia Wilson pulled out for health reasons.

Aftersun and Normal People star Paul Mescal is attached to the much-anticipated production, which will now see Patsy Ferran take the lead role of Blanche DuBois.

All performances between December 12 and 16 have been cancelled, with performances now starting on December 17, and the press night rearranged from December 20 to January 12.

A statement from the Almeida on Thursday read: “For health reasons, Lydia Wilson will no longer play the role of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire. The part will now be played by Patsy Ferran.”

Mescal will play Stanley while Anjana Vasan will perform as Stella with Rebecca Frecknall directing.

Frecknall worked with Ferran on another Tennessee Williams play, Summer and Smoke, also at the Almeida, in 2018.

The cancellations follow the Almeida also pulling the last two performances of musical Tammy Faye, which were due to be shown on December 3.

Of the show, the Almeida website says many performances are now sold out or have limited availability.

For tickets, click here.

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