Upstairs, downstairs

Jodie Hillock and Errol Shand in After Miss Julie, struggle with their extreme attraction. Photo / Adam Baines

A provocative drama reshapes Strindberg's masterpiece, writes Dionne Christian

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.

"I wouldn't bring a 14-year-old to see this. Let young people be innocent about love and relationships for a little bit longer before exposing them to something where the characters are so damaged and the relationship so destructive."

Director Cameron Rhodes likens Miss Julie and John to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton: "It's about extreme attraction and what happens when two people who really shouldn't be together just can't help it."

Hillock happened upon Miss Julie some years ago and went looking for more modern versions of the story. After Miss Julie debuted on BBC television in 1995 and, eight years later, made its stage premiere at the Donmar Warehouse. It is regularly performed around the world and a more recent South African version added race to the volatile themes of sex and class. "I liked the language and the themes. I was intrigued by how two people can be the way these two are."

Originally she wanted to stage the "complex relationship drama" in a found space, but opted for the Basement Studio Theatre. She says the "intimate" space suits After Miss Julie, which is set in a downstairs kitchen and complements its naturalistic style. Shand, with a sense of humour his more recent television appearances in series such as Underbelly don't allow him to reveal, says it's more like 3D television than theatre.

Hillock and Rhodes saw no need to veer away from Marber's script or try to modernise the story, saying historical and relationship dramas remain among the most popular in theatre.

All are quick to point to the success of shows such as Downton Abbey, demonstrating our appetites for these types of stories.

Shand says his character John highlights dilemmas many people face. "If you're entrapped by society, and its expectations of and for you, how do you break out of it?"

Rhodes adds: "He's the kind of person who should have come to New Zealand. That desire to get ahead and escape the shackles and expectations of British society was the reason so many of our ancestors struck out for the colonies. They wanted a 'better life' with more opportunities. There's a reason stories about class remain popular; like it or not, it's part of our history."