The Maids, Trafalgar Studios

[couldileaveyou]

Feb 25, 2016 18:40:55 GMT Jonnyboy said:

Feb 25, 2016 17:33:14 GMT couldileaveyou said:

Those seats are really awful, I feel pity and horror for those who will sit near Mark Shenton on opening night

?? You said the stage seats looked good a few posts back!

Sorry for the confusion, I wasn't talking about the stage seats, but about all the seats of the Trafalgar Studios, narrow, hard and uncomfortable as hell.

[Jonnyboy]

Ah got you!

I've just returned my seats in exchange for centre of third row. Backs I can deal with. Stage being cut off... not so much!

[Steve]

While this was not what I expected, it is great fun!

Genet's play is about identity, who we are at any moment, and how that changes. It is also about how the stories we tell ourselves change who we are. When we roleplay and dress up, do we become more ourselves, or less ourselves, and do we even have a core self?

All these concerns are beautifully addressed in Jamie Lloyd's rollicking playful and camp version of Genet's play.

What Lloyd does not do is succomb to the starkness of Genet's vision, the horror of not knowing who we are, the despair behind the need to become something else. After all, Genet's plot was inspired by a true story of murderous maids, and though that was just a jumping off point for Genet's wholly original tale, the darkness of that act informed Genet's play.

Genet uses sadomasochism as his principal vehicle for exploring identity, the fantasy assumption of powerful and vulnerable roles to get in touch with hidden parts of our ourselves. Genet's play envisions behaviour that is extreme, whips a-go-go, behaviour which would need to be policed by safewords, at the very least.

Jamie Lloyd jetisons the whips for a more audience-friendly cosy and camp and hilarious mode of roleplay: less like adults beating each other senseless, more like children cursing each other in the playground. The "c" word is bandied about not with the spite and venom of adults, but with the mischief and glee and playfulness of children.

Appropriate to this take on the material, the stage, gilded with sparkling lights around the edges, resembles the interior of a rectangular dolls house full of pretty flowers waiting for little girls to come inside and play dress up.

The result is a production full of wonderful, mischievous and relentlessly entertaining playfulness, that allows all three actors to shine. The actors seem to be playing versions of Roald Dahl characters from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: as the Mistress, Laura Carmichael struts like a grown-up Veruca Salt, spoiled and selfish as ever, telling herself ridiculous stories of her own magnificence and munificence and believing them; Zawe Ashton's Claire is like a grown-up Violet Beauregarde, effervescent with the spirit of her aggressive competitiveness and her own relentless self-regarde; and Uzo Aduba is like Willy Wonka himself, the zany playful magician who's every word cannot be trusted, who appears most in charge when apparently not in charge at all.

By sacrificing the absolute sadism and seriousness of Genet's vision, Lloyd denies the ending to this play the sense of inevitability that it could have, but by extending the camp comic reach of the play, he opens up it's considerations about the mysteriousness of identity to the broadest possible audience in the most entertaining and wonderful way.

4 stars.

[lonlad]

I'd give it 4 stars as well and say only in response that this production is VERY dark indeed as the hushed silences throughout last night's performance (and a packed house) made clear - notwithstanding an errant phone ringing near the end. It's a brilliant touch to have Laura C be as thoroughgoingly vapid and unfeeling as she is made to appear and Uzo Aduba throughout is beyond praise: a smaller-in-stature version of the great Viola Davis onscreen in The Help. But the production is no mere camp-fest (and not in any way shape or form at all reminiscent of Roald Dahl) --- quite the opposite. And also possibly the best MAIDS I have seen.

[charliec]

Saw the matinee today. Huge fan of both Uzo Aduba and Zawe Ashton already and thought they were both excellent in this, particularly Uzo, I was in the back row and still got so much from her performance. Wasn't sure for the first 30 mins but enjoyed it from Laura Carmichael's appearance onwards. Loved all the little trapdoors in the stage too.

[littlesally]

Is it straight through or two acts!

[couldileaveyou]

Straight through

[Deleted]

This was very well acted

But ultimately a massive case of style over substance

The sh*tty Trafalgar Studios are awful

And the play is repetitive and tedious

Also the staging was much better for the recent Broadway run (with a much more prestigious cast to be honest)

[Deleted]

Feb 27, 2016 23:49:55 GMT @parsley said:

repetitive and tedious

! !

[Steve]

Feb 27, 2016 13:11:50 GMT lonlad said:

this production is VERY dark indeed as the hushed silences throughout last night's performance (and a packed house) made clear

the production is no mere camp-fest (and not in any way shape or form at all reminiscent of Roald Dahl) --- quite the opposite. And also possibly the best MAIDS I have seen.

Ionlad, we definitely had different audiences, as the chap in front of me laughed like a drain throughout.

I agree that the play is very dark indeed, but my experience of this production is that it was a camp and entertaining rendering of that darkness. And I liked that about it.

First, the constantly repeated use of the "c" word with a spirit of naughtiness and revelry suggests a translation that is primed for the boundary-breaking urges of camp;

Second, the constant smiling and giggling and laughing by Uzo Aduba's Solange served as a surrogate to draw the audience into the play as an elaborately staged game, rather than as do-or-die drama;

Third, the repeated addresses outward toward the audience on both sides, but mostly to the front-facing audience who payed more, suggests a desire to play outwards to the audience as much as to play inward to the drama;

Fourth, the non-naturalistic gilded-chocolate-box-surrounded-by-flashing-lights stage design providing a sparkly fun frame to contain the darkness, serving to leaven and render harmless the soul of Genet's darkness.

At yesterday's matinee of "A Girl is a half-formed thing" at the Young Vic, there was a moment when Aoife Duffin turns her abuses in self-hatred against herself, snarling "hit me in the face." That was far darker than the ladies rolling around in petals, calling each other the "c" word, playing dress-up sadomasochism at the Trafalgar.

By contrast to this production, take a look at this short clip of Glenda Jackson's 1974 performance of Solange (preserved fortuitously for presentation on US television), and you will see how sick, twisted, intense and insular this show can feel:

(This really makes me ache even more for an impossible-to-get Glenda Jackson Lear ticket lol!)

Anyway, we're all different lol.

[Deleted]

Reminder that £15 Monday tickets for March are now on sale (I'd forgotten but just booked )

[foxa]

Thanks for the reminder!

[Deleted]

I managed to secure myself two tickets for next Monday's performance. I actually cannot for this now!

I'm definitely making a more concerted effort to see more plays this year alongside the musicals. I'm not sure whether it's because I'm broadening my horizons or simply a case that lots of plays that appeal to me have reared their heads.

Just a point of interest for anyone hoping to book on a £15 Monday, the tickets seemed to be released around 10:00 (yes I did check periodically!)

[kathryn]

Yes, they go on sale at 10am - queuing system was working from 9:30 ish this morning.

I got 2 for the 28th.

[foxa]

Me too! (thanks to Xanderl's reminder.) I think I'm in row D.

[johnnyutah]

I saw this last night and it's a singular experience. This is a bear pit masquerading as a couture show. The lacerating exchanges between Zawe Ashton and Uzo Aduba have a strikingly baroque quality. Tenderness and acute stabs of pain are undercut by an astonishing level of malevolence. The audience quickly becomes immersed in a pitch black battle of wills. Zawe Ashton gave an incendiary performance. She effortlessly switched from statuesque matriarch elegance to a gawky little sister with astonishing ease. Uzo Aduba's final monologue was equally volcanic. Solange's fractured psyche was revealed in all its glory. Please go and see this if you get the chance, theatre this vital, dangerous and strange doesn't come along too often.

[Phantom of London]

I read Michael Billington's 4 star review before I went in, for a heads up, in Caffe Nero, near by.

However viewing the play I thought I bet Quentin Letts of the Daily Mail will hate this and checked on my ipad on the way home and he gave it 1 star, so no surprise there, but the real surprise here is when I find myself siding with Quentin, his review was spot on.

The play tried to rip off the staging of the New Vic's A View From The Bridge, however that staging for Bridge just bottled up the emotional intensity of the piece, this was evident here, the play was plodding and therefore, very much third division. Annoying music was also channeled out into the very uncomfortable auditorium.

Sorry I don't understand all the love for Jamie Lloyd?

One star from Quentin and also from me.

[Deleted]

I must admit, none of the reviews exactly made me desperate to see this show, which I was already lukewarm about at best. Have decided to save my £15 for NT booking on Friday instead!

[joem]

The production doesn't do much to make the play more accessible and by going for some over-obvious laughs detracts from its seriousness. And mke no mistake: this is a serious play dealing with issues of identity, alienation and powerplay. If you find camp stuff automatically funny wel ok, I don't.

Acting is energetic but I do wonder if the first half isn't too energetic, it means the play is one-paced and makes its verbosity tedious. A more nuanced build-up to a crescendo of activity and then bringing it down to a slower climax is, I feel, the correct way to do this.

Genet was fond of sado-masochistic sex and he lets that permeate much of his work; no greater mystery here. He was also a great admirer and student of violence and that definitely also goes into his work.

The acting makes it worthwhile but as someone else said this is style over substance and is more of a historical record of what we found shocking than shocking in itself.

[Ade]

Mar 12, 2016 1:44:08 GMT joem said:

The production doesn't do much to make the play more accessible and by going for some over-obvious laughs detracts from its seriousness. And mke no mistake: this is a serious play dealing with issues of identity, alienation and powerplay. If you find camp stuff automatically funny wel ok, I don't.

Acting is energetic but I do wonder if the first half isn't too energetic, it means the play is one-paced and makes its verbosity tedious. A more nuanced build-up to a crescendo of activity and then bringing it down to a slower climax is, I feel, the correct way to do this.

Genet was fond of sado-masochistic sex and he lets that permeate much of his work; no greater mystery here. He was also a great admirer and student of violence and that definitely also goes into his work.

The acting makes it worthwhile but as someone else said this is style over substance and is more of a historical record of what we found shocking than shocking in itself.

Agree with much of this and saw it last night. While I think the performances are great (particularly Uzo Aduba) and liked the styling, I spent much of the time feeling like the direction just didn't match the subject matter. There was a broad Jamie Lloyd stroke of paint across proceedings that plastered over paying any real attention to the text.

So in summary, I enjoyed it, the performances are brilliant and the visual design and sound production are great, but the latter two just don't feel like there was any consideration of the actual text.

[talkstageytome]

Oh dear. I've booked to see this in a months time and so far it's hardly been raved about. I am a fan of Jamie Lloyd so hopefully I'll enjoy this though.

[Ade]

Mar 12, 2016 9:05:49 GMT talkstageytome said:

Oh dear. I've booked to see this in a months time and so far it's hardly been raved about. I am a fan of Jamie Lloyd so hopefully I'll enjoy this though.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it. As did the majority of the people in the auditorium, I would say.

[littlesally]

Saw this last night. Loved it. Impeccable performances from all three. Loved the staging (almost like watching an exhibit in a bell jar) and the sound design really added to the mood and helped maintain a feeling of unease throughout.
The 2 hours (longer than usual?) flew by - even in those awful seats. Would have been upset if I'd had a stage seat as 80% or more was played to the main house.
Highly recommended.

[mrbarnaby]

Has anyone bought a programme and does it say what the exit music was?

I saw it last week and really enjoyed it. Great sound design and all 3 actresses were very impressive.

[mrbarnaby]

Please translate into English...

)

Mar 2, 2016 22:52:31 GMT johnnyutah said:

I saw this last night and it's a singular experience. This is a bear pit masquerading as a couture show. The lacerating exchanges between Zawe Ashton and Uzo Aduba have a strikingly baroque quality. Tenderness and acute stabs of pain are undercut by an astonishing level of malevolence. The audience quickly becomes immersed in a pitch black battle of wills. Zawe Ashton gave an incendiary performance. She effortlessly switched from statuesque matriarch elegance to a gawky little sister with astonishing ease. Uzo Aduba's final monologue was equally volcanic. Solange's fractured psyche was revealed in all its glory. Please go and see this if you get the chance, theatre this vital, dangerous and strange doesn't come along too often.