Miss Julie by August Strindberg

8th - 15th February 2003

Lucky Sods programme cover

Cast:

MISS JULIE , Susan Wyld

JEAN: A VALET , Carl Bamber

CHRISTINE: A COOK , Pam Green

An O.R.P Production directed by Alan Wood.

Crew:

SET DESIGN : Ray Lockey & Peter Turton

LIGHTING : Alan Wood

SOUND : Gillian Lessiter

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT AND PROPS : Jayne & Gemma Mills

LIGHTING OPERATOR : Scott Vanes

TRANSLATION : Edwin Bjorkman

We would like to thank Pets Pantry Blackheath for their assistance

The Play:

In Miss Julie, a willful young aristocrat, whose perverse nature has already driven her fiancé to break off their engagement, pursues and effectively seduces her father's valet during the course of a Midsummer's Eve celebration. The progress of that seduction and the play's stunning denouement shocked Swedish audiences who first attended the play in 1889.

Despite its controversial debut, this now-classic drama, inspired by the new ideas of naturalism and psychology that swept Europe in the late 19th century, helped to shape modern theatre, and remains one of the most potent-and most frequently performed-of modern plays.

The action takes place on Midsummer's Eve in the servants quarters of the Counts Country House 1888.

The Author - August Strindberg

The principal genius of Swedish literature and pivotal figure in the development of modern drama, August Strindberg (1849 - 1912) was at the centre of the literary controversies that transformed the European Stage during the late nineteenth century. During his forty-year career, which helped to establish radical dramatic idioms as diverse as Naturalism and Expressionism, Strindberg gained notoriety both as an insightful portrayer of character and as an unrelenting opponent of the social and theatrical mores and restrictions of his day.

Reviews:

'Psychological yarn with Julie' (Halesowen News)

Dark drama and sexual intrigue come to Oldbury Rep as the company's season continues with psychological yarn Miss Julie.

August Strinfberg's play continues the company's season and is the first production to take place in the studio at the Barlow Theatre, Langley High Street this, year.

The plot focuses on one chaotic midsummer night early last century in the life of aristocratic Miss Julie and footman Jean.

Strindberg's classic breaks down the social boundaries ass Miss Julie tries to escape from her sheltered mansion existence, tempting the attentions of Jean.