When dancer Roseanna Leney was preparing for her role as Blanche DuBois in Scottish Ballet’s stunning A Streetcar Named Desire she turned to two famous names who tackled the part before.
But don’t expect to see her channelling either Vivien Leigh, from the classic film version, or Gillian Anderson’s recent acclaimed performance in the National Theatre production, both of which Roseanna watched while rehearsing.
“I’m trying to make her my own and trying not do it how it’s always been done,” said Roseanna about playing the faded Southern belle who is tormented by her brutish brother-in-law, Stanley.
“Obviously we have to – it’s who she is – but it’s trying to find out how it sits on my body and how I’m able to portray it that’s natural to me.”
Playing Blanche DuBois is both dancing and acting challenge
Roseanna will be stepping out as one of the most iconic characters in stage and film history, when Scottish Ballet tours its take on Tennessee Williams’ classic work this month, including stops in Inverness, Aberdeen, Kirkwall and Stornoway.
Although Roseanna is quick to point out that the challenging role charting troubled Blanche’s descent into despair, alcoholism and madness is testing her acting abilities almost more than her skill as a dancer.
“For this ballet, while you have to think about the steps and they have to be done well, it actually helps to concentrate more on the acting side of things and portraying the story, therefore the steps come much more naturally,” she said.
“I’ve found it quite interesting because I’m not so nervous for the dancing at all in this production, which is a change. It just sort of happens with the intention you are putting into the steps. It makes them much more natural when I’m thinking why I’m doing that and what I’m wanting to show.
“I wondered how I would be able to tap into her darker sides, but I’ve enjoyed it. Having the freedom to let go is something I’ve never experienced in a role. It’s about losing yourself in the character.”
Story behind Streetcar Named Desire makes it a Scottish Ballet classic
Scottish Ballet’s A Street Car Named Desire, choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, won widespread acclaim when it was originally performed in 2012, with its riveting narrative set in the Deep South of the 1940s.
It brought a fresh take, with its blend of graceful waltzes, jazz-infused lindy jives in a New Orleans night club and intense duets between Stella and Stanley.
Roseanna believes it is the storytelling that makes the ballet such a special part of the national dance company’s repertoire, touring again following the play’s 75th anniversary.
“It is so unique. As an audience member you are taken on the journey of Blanche’s story,” she said.
“You see her happiness, her innocence, her emotional delicacy and then you see her utter loneliness, what she goes through, her troubles, and how she turns to alcohol. It has everything in it and you’re never bored watching it.
“It’s not a happy storyline either. Usually there’s a happy ending and this isn’t it. It’s very real.”
Roseanna’s journey from shy wee girl to centre stage with Scottish Ballet
This is Roseanna’s biggest role to date with Scottish Ballet in terms of storyline and character and she admits to finding it a touch daunting – but exciting at the same time.
As Blanche, Roseanna will be centre stage and holding an audience’s rapt attention the whole time. It’s a scenario completely at odds with her reasons for going into ballet as a little girl.
“I was actually a very, very shy child, so much so that I didn’t really speak to anyone and I didn’t want anyone to speak to me. My mum put me into ballet because there was no talking involved, so I just did my own thing in the corner,” said Roseanna.
“Then my ballet teacher said to my mum: ‘She’s actually quite good, I think she should do something with this’. So I went to the Royal Ballet School and that was it. In just never looked back.”
But now, with the spotlight firmly on her, Roseanna hopes to thrill audiences with her take on Blanche.
Roseanna wants to take audiences on a moving journey with Blanche
“I think the end of the ballet is really quite moving emotionally, not only for me but for the audience, when she’s left alone and taken to the mental hospital,” she said.
“I hope I can take them on that journey and they feel the heartbreak that Blanche feels. I don’t want them to go home sad, but I hope to have moved them in the way I am moved by the role.”
Scottish Ballet’s A Streetcar Named Desire will be at Eden Court in Inverness from April 21 to April 22, then His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen from April 27 to 29.
It will be at the Pickaquoy Centre in Kirkwall on June 22 and 23, then the Lewis Sports Centre on June 29 and 30.
For tickets and information visit scottishballet.co.uk
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