The Maids

An appallingly castrated version of Genet's closeted, claustrophobic play about SM fantasies. Besides some silly attempts to 'open out' the proceedings (meaningless given the original's intention), the direction displays a disarming British sang froid and literalness towards the Gallic masterpiece. Worst offenders, however, are Jackson and York, prancing around like a couple of grandes dames of the theatre, and playing out their games of dominance and submission with all the conviction of a vicar's sisters feeling up the parrot.