“A Streetcar Named Desire” will be performed at the River Campus at Southeast Missouri State University Oct. 26 through 30 in the Rust Flexible Theatre.

The play, written by Tennessee Williams in 1947, tells the story of Blanche du Bois (played by Cidney Woodson), who goes to New Orleans to visit her sister, Stella (played by Kelli Cox), and brother-in-law, Stanley (played by Jay Wade). Blanche and Stanley spend the summer in a series of arguments and struggles.

Roxanne Wellington, director of the show, said “Streetcar” is about survival.

“One of the things that I’ve talked to the cast a lot about is the idea of survival,” Wellington said. “That these are people, especially Stanley and Blanche, that are survivors.”

Wellington said understanding the time and the situations each character faced was a challenge for the cast.

To understand the characters, Wellington asked a dramaturge to teach the cast about the history of New Orleans, the ideals of the era and the illnesses faced by each character. She said finding humanity in each character was important to this production, especially concerning the mental illnesses that surround the play’s script.

“I don’t want to generalize these things because I think it’s very easy to say ‘Blanche is an alcoholic and a pedophile,’” Wellington said. “Instead of making them two monsters, it’s kind of like what can we do to find the humanity and specificity of these characters.”

Wellington said she wants the play to be relatable to the issues of today.

“I wanted to make this more applicable to nowadays,” Wellington said. “I want the audience to be able to relate to it.”

The play, which will run approximately two and half hours, will be shown at 7:30 p.m. every night with a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Sunday. Tickets cost $18.50 to the general public and $3 with a Southeast ID. Guests should be aware of adult language and content before attending.