MISS JULIE by August Strindberg: In an version by Frank McGuinness. Directed by Oliver Baird, Designed by Laura Cordery, Lighting by Anna Sbokou, Produced by Elevate Theatre Company
24th August - 19th September 2010
Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30pm, Sunday at 4:00pm
PRESS NIGHT: Thursday, 26th August 2010 at 7:30pm
TICKETS: £12, £10 (concessions)
BOX OFFICE: 020 8858 9256 / boxoffice@galleontheatre.co.uk
VENUE: GREENWICH PLAYHOUSE, Greenwich Station Forecourt, 189 Greenwich High Road, London SE10 8JA
www.galleontheatre.co.uk
"There aren't many plays that capture our own modern predicament so clearly, so passionately."
Oliver Baird - Director
In their debut production, Elevate Theatre Company present Strindberg's masterpiece about power, sex and class at the Greenwich Playhouse.
It is Midsummer's Eve on the Count's estate, a night for laughter, dancing and celebration. In the kitchen this brightest of nights is darkening as Julie, the Count's daughter, and Jean, his valet, begin a dangerous game of flirtation. Julie is perched precariously at the top of the social ladder, and Jean dreams of getting his foot firmly on a higher rung. At first the flirtation is innocent but it moves quickly. After succumbing to physical desire everything changes, and the line between desire and disgust, between love and hate, is increasingly blurred. As their world starts to fray and untwist, they desperately seek a way out - but in a time of codes and propriety, of class divides, of reputations and expectations, their options are getting fewer and fewer...
Miss Julie, Strindberg's devastating study of power and desire, is here presented in a stripped-back production that sweeps away any quaint period naturalism and puts the focus on the sparkling and manipulative interplay between the characters. This intelligently directed play focuses on the words as the key to its powerful emotion. Instead of layering emotion on top of the text the words will be used to explore and eventually set free the emotion that is already there, creating a Miss Julie that is real, honest and present.
Frank McGuinness's translation brings his characteristic combination of lyricism and barbed wit to a play that still feels modern in its savagery and heartbreak. He has written a translation which is universal and timeless.
Elevate Theatre Company proudly presents Amy Jayne Davis as Julie, Daniel McLoughlin as Jean and Lucinda Westcar as Kristin. The power and talent of these three actors will bring to life some of the most complex characters ever written. This bold production is sure to excite and captivate; it is a Miss Julie no one will want to miss.
