Gillian Anderson Revisits Blanche DuBois in STREETCAR Prequel, THE DEPARTURE

Gillian Anderson recently took on the iconic role of Blanche DuBois in a sold-out production of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at London's Young Vic. As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the actress is now revisiting the character in a new short film she directed. Written by Andrew O'Hagan, 'The Departure' was created for the Young Vic Shorts series, which presents companion pieces to shows that have been performed at the theatre.

She tells The Guardian: "When Blanche first arrives at Elysian Fields [the street where Stella lives], you have the impression that she's a little shaky, perhaps from travel, and hyper. You don't have a sense yet of the depth of loneliness or despair or financial insecurity or tragedy that she has been through recently - and, it turns out, since childhood. That unravels during the play as Stanley starts to 'smoke her out' ... She arrives in a gold dress and gold shoes, seemingly put together. I was interested in the state she was in before she put on that armour and that facade and knocked on her sister's door."

The film, available beginning February 6 on theguardian.com, will co-star Bruce Alexander, Suzanne Bertish and Rollo Skinner.

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Anderson began her career in theatre but achieved international recognition for her portrayal of Special Agent Dana Scully on The X-Files. During the show's nine seasons she won an Emmy, a Golden Globe and two SAG Awards. A Streetcar Named Desire at the Young Vic is Gillian's fourth appearance on the London stage. In 2009 she received an Olivier nomination for her performance as Nora in A Doll's House at the Donmar Warehouse. Prior to this she appeared inThe Sweetest Swing In Baseball at the Royal Court, and made her West End debut in Michael Weller's What The Night Is Forin 2002. Her screen On screen her credits include Great Expectations, Bleak House (for which she received a BAFTA, Emmy and Golden Globe nomination), Any Human Heart (also BAFTA nominated), and most recently she played DSI Stella Gibson in BBC 2's psychological thriller, The Fall. On the big screen, her numerous credits include The Mighty, Playing By Heart, The House of Mirth (for which she won a British Independent Film Award), The Last King of Scotland, A c*ckand Bull Story, Boogie Woogie and Shadow Dancer.

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