OBSERVER: Miss Julie
Reimagining a classic play like Miss Julie for the contemporary stage carries with it inordinate challenges, not the least of which are the assumptions and tropes associated with a piece credited as being a touchstone of the emerging style of naturalism back in 1888.
Writer and director Harry Haynes has us in a modern Greek restaurant kitchen where the ultimate power resides with the owner – the landed gentry.
The cook in this instance seems to be the head chef, Kristina (Izabella Yena) affording her hierarchy over John (Adam-Jon Fiorentino) to whom she is supposedly engaged.
It is then the restaurant owner’s daughter, Julie (Annalise Gelagotis), who provides the friction because of her entitled position.
There is an insinuation of Greek values and behaviour along with an ensemble of 14 waiters, who move the set (Angelina Daniels) of kitchen benches and who symbolise the sexual union of John and Julie through dance, a seemingly modernist affectation.
A true correlation with the original is also compromised today given both suffrage and feminism which affords Julie more agency negating the shock Strinberg’s audience would have felt.
Julie’s power is no longer at the behest of her position alone. Thus, there are some incongruities brought about by the passage of time.
John’s suicide at the end of this play is also not true to the original making one wonder if this version should be interpreted as a separate work.
The interplay between Adam-Jon and Annalise as they parry for position and power works best once the play is established.
The residual noise of the waiters partying offstage given the echoing nature of the venue makes dialogue difficult to hear at times – the encroachment of realism.
The dedication of the performers is evident, but how true one remains to the original and what is achieved in a reimagining will make for some interesting discussions.
Performance Season: Until August 17
Venue: fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Bookings: www.fortyfivedownstairs.com
Review by David McLean
Izabella Yena and Adam-Jon Fiorentino in Miss Julie.. Photo: Matto Lucas