Miss Julie was originally written by August Strindberg in 1888, but this adaption, Ms. Julie by the New Rep, has been brought forward in time to 1985, when the miners’ strikes were coming to an end. This modernisation by Edward Neale (who also directs) is a welcome update to writing that may have been difficult to understand in its original form.
The theatre space was set as a kitchen of a large house. This was quite a transformation to this black box theatre, and one that suited this play greatly, as the action occurred entirely in this kitchen.
I had not heard of Miss Julie before, but I have seen the New Rep in action enough to know their plays will be high quality. This one was no exception. When Christine (Molly-Mae Patterson) took to the stage, the initial scene was lively and high energy, with music and dancing. This was unexpected, but made it very easy to warm to this character.
Gruff Williams plays John, and when he enters the kitchen, it became clear that John and Christine are in a relationship. Both of them work for Miss Julie's father, who is never seen but his presence is always felt. John’s conflict between his hopes for the future, and his situation as someone who serves, clearly gives him inner turmoil as he eventually describes his plans. This character behaves in ways I found quite surprising at times, managing to evoke several different emotions as time moved on.
Miss Julie (Lucy Blott) is used to a life of privilege and getting what she wants. Impulsive and with rapidly changing ideas, this character is complex but an absolute delight to watch, and the way these three actors bounce off each other is flawless.
There is not much else I need to say about this production, apart from catch it while you can. The performances are exquisite from start to finish, and it’s wonderful to be able to see a show that was originally written so long ago, and yet has been so well adapted to be easily accessible by everyone now.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ms. Julie is showing at Golden Goose Theatre until 19th July.
If you would like to see more of my curtain call photographs from this show, please follow this link.
