An R16 Downton Abbey? It could be an apt description of After Miss Julie, according to the cast and director of the first Auckland professional production of the Patrick Marber play.
Marber, best known for the modern classic Closer, was inspired by August Strindberg's 1888 masterpiece Miss Julie. Initially banned in the playwright's homeland of Sweden and censored in other places, Miss Julie has since been remade and retold as a ballet, opera, and a number of film and television versions.
Marber's take on the battle of the sexes and classes transports Strindberg's story from a 19th century Swedish estate to an English country-house in July 1945 and increases the psychological thriller aspects of the script. As the working-class British Labour Party celebrates a historic victory over Winston Churchill's Conservatives, Miss Julie (played by Jodie Hillock), the daughter of a wealthy politician, slips downstairs to make merry with her family's servants. They include chauffeur John and his sort-of-fiancee Christine (Dena Kennedy), but John (Erroll Shand) and Miss Julie have an undeniable attraction that promises to cause chaos for all involved.
Show producer and lead actor Hillock says it's an R16 show, not so much because of the sex scenes between her character and John, but because of its emotional content.