THEATRE-GOERS can get ready to be transported back to 1940s New Orleans, as A Streetcar Named Desire opens at the Oxford Playhouse.

The Tennessee Williams’ play, which opens next week, tells the story of southern belle Blanche Dubois, who arrives to stay with her sister Stella in ‘the Big Easy’ and finds a very different world to the one she was used to, embodied by Stella’s brutish husband Stanley.

It is being performed by the University of Oxford Student Company, with a cast and crew of about 40 students.

First-time producer Sarah Ventress, 21, said: “We are so excited to be able to perform at the Playhouse – it is an incredible privilege for students.”

The play runs from Wednesday until Saturday and tickets are available from oxfordplayhouse.com or by phoning 01865 305305.