Twists Keep You Guessing And Surprises Keep You Laughing
Newcastle Herald
Saturday March 28, 1998
The Maids: by Jean Genet. Flying Teapot Theatre, at the Civic Playhouse. Today at 8pm, then next Friday and Saturday at 8pm.
`YOU'RE always trying to pamper me as if I were dying,' the coquettish Madame says to one of her maids midway through Jean Genet's brilliant play, little realising how close to the truth she is.
Not that Madame's about to drop dead there and then.
Her two maids, provincial sisters, may play physical and mental games which end in murder but Genet and this sterling production keep the audience guessing as to whether they will actually do the deed ? and, if they do, who the victim will be.
The twists, turns and lies in The Maids make it difficult to reveal too much about what happens. A lot of the fun of this dark comedy springs from its element of surprise.
At the same time, the unexpected shifts in the events and relationships make the play a minefield for any group performing it. There's need to maintain a constant mood and rhythm and avoid a sudden change in style which could shatter the theatrical illusion.
Director Rod Ansell steers his three actors skilfully through Genet's challenging maze, drawing particularly fine performances from the `sisters'.
The maids, Claire and Solange, are on stage for virtually the whole of the play's unbroken 85-minute running time. The roles are demanding, exhausting and, if performed well, as here, exhilarating.
Claire is the prettier sister, dreaming of wealth and social standing. She sees herself as having more balance than Solange but Angela Shone gives her an edgy, unsettlingly erratic quality. She can soothe Solange and the audience with a collected `Let's talk calmly', then seconds later be pelting them with a feverish verbal volley.
Katinka Smit, who plays Solange, has an astonishing ability to make a plain character radiantly beautiful in the course of a short speech. She does that here, most notably in a scene where she caringly and happily massages Claire's legs.
Claire Williams is a breezy mass of contradictions in the small role of the middle-class Madame, effecting to treat her maids as equals one minute, then putting them down the next.
Brigette Thorn's extravagantly bizarre costumes are fun, Adrian Britnell's scarlet-dominated boudoir set has the right mixture of luxury and confinement and Scott Allan's lighting adds to the play's unreal quality.
A warning. An hour into The Maids, there's a scene with no actors on stage for a minute. Don't start to leave, as some people did on opening night thinking the play was over. There are more surprises in store.
© 1998 Newcastle Herald