 Although it was common knowledge that the Old Vic triumvirate had been dismissed , they refused to be drawn on the matter in public , and Olivier even arranged to play a final London season with the company in 1949 , as Richard III , Sir Peter <unk> , and Chorus in his own production of Anouilh 's <unk> with Leigh in the title role . After that , he was free to embark on a new career as an actor @-@ manager . In partnership with <unk> Beaumont he staged the English premiere of Tennessee Williams 's A Streetcar Named Desire , with Leigh in the central role of Blanche <unk> . The play was condemned by most critics , but the production was a considerable commercial success , and led to Leigh 's casting as Blanche in the 1951 film version . Gielgud , who was a devoted friend of Leigh 's , doubted whether Olivier was wise to let her play the demanding role of the mentally unstable heroine : " [ Blanche ] was so very like her , in a way . It must have been a most <unk> strain to do it night after night . She would be shaking and white and quite distraught at the end of it . " 
