Jean Genet’s twisted class war three-hander The Maids is the most revived of his shows: Jamie Lloyd did a properly big revival nine years ago, and there have been many smaller ones since including a version at Jermyn Street Theatre earlier this year. This version of the 1947 French drama about two maids who indulge in violent, erotic roleplay of their mistress feels particularly interesting as it marks the first original UK production by Australian writer-director Kip Williams, who had made some serious waves in recent years with his tech heavy, one-woman Dorian Gray and its imminent sister production, Dracula.
His take on The Maids does have a full cast of three: Yerin Ha and Phia Saban as the maids, Lydia Wilson as the mistress. Sop whether or not Williams’s fondness of tech rears its head here is TBC, and will probably tell us much about him (ie are all his shows Like That).
Regardless, he’s a spectacularly good get for the Donmar.
