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In the Wings
TO the Hen and Chickens at Highbury Corner for the first night of Lady Julia, a new translation of Miss Julie, Strindberg’s exacting examination of masters, servants and the power relations between them.
This contemporary adaptation by James and Ben Kenward (the latter also translated; the former also acts) possesses a mix of sexual tension and class consciousness bringing to mind Jean Genet’s The Maids. At times, it conjures up an atmosphere as haunting and modern as an IKEA superstore, and does Strindberg proud indeed.
The action opens in the servants’ quarters of an English mansion. It is New Year’s Eve and, flouting convention, the mistress of the manor, the seductive Lady Julia, is partying with her footmen downstairs, dancing and flirting with them - and with one in particular: John (James Kenward), a handsome, humble man. Confident, rich Julia, it seems, is more powerful than John – but appearances are deceptive.
Strindberg references that off-the-wall biblical comparison “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God”, as well as Christ’s prophesy that the meek shall inherit the earth.
As Genet asks in The Maids, who really has power?
If you look closely enough, you can find both poetry and dark humour in parts of this play. The acting is tight and there’s a simple yet impressive dance sequence. But ultimately neither Julia nor John inspire sympathy, and the ideas behind the play, radical in Strindberg’s time, have become less interesting through their use in various ways by other writers.
Until December 19
020 7704 2001 |
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