Anna Popplewell and Carla Harrsion-Hodge in The Maids at Jermyn Street Theatre. Photography by Steve Gregson.As with all ambitious programmes however, there are invariably ups and downs and the venue’s latest opener (a co-production with Reading Rep) directed by Annie Kershaw, revisits Jean Genet’s oddly jarring THE MAIDS, with limited success. The surreal work is largely based on the notorious Le Mans murder of a bullying employer and her daughter by the household’s two house maids, sisters Christine and Léa Papin. The scandal filled french newspapers in 1933 and provided the basis for Genet’s deliberately disjointed piece in which Solange (Anna Popplewell) and Claire (Charlie Oscar) dress-up in the glamorous clothing of their unpleasant Mistress (Carla Harrison Hodge) and act out scenes of murderous vengeance in which strangulation usually forms the denouement.
Whilst the cast undoubtedly have oodles of talent and deliver the lines with depth and integrity, the disjointedness in the original script (here translated by Martin Crimp) serves to imbue proceedings with an irritating ambiguity. As scenes play-out, the audience is fed obfuscating red herrings intended to mislead and confuse. However, the parts resolutely resist ever coalescing into a riveting or particularly entertaining whole.
I’d attended the opening night in hopes that the production would prove un petit bijou, but despite the valiant efforts of the onstage talents, the end result felt decidedly old-hat and a little half-baked. No matter, the silver lining is that this being Jermyn Street, their next offering (David Greig’s Outlying Islands) will already be in rehearsal and in no time will be before another eager theatre-loving audience. And long may it continue to be so, for London needs venues willing to take risks and provide a home for those creatives who dare to test their wings, make errors, hone their talents and feed the vibrant and enriching sector we all love and admire.
The Maids runs until 22nd January before transferring to Reading Rep.
