The Maids, New York City Center Theater,
Friday August 15th 2014
We saw Cate Blanchett when she first graduated from NIDA and now to see her in New York with Sydney Theatre Company is a wonderful experience. What is even better is seeing these three fine actresses play in Jean Genet's "The Maids" for the New York Lincoln Center Festival 2014.
Cate Blanchett plays Claire the younger sister of Salonge played by Isabelle Huppert and Elizabeth Debicki as the Mistress at the New York City Center Theater.
I have seen "The Maids" at least three times before in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. So to see one of one of my favourite Australian theatre companies present this play in New York is such a treat.
Each time I have seen "The Maids" it seemed to had a sinister edge and they told the story. Here, these actresses totally absorbed their roles and lived them, thereby having my total attention and transport me on their journey.
I have been lucky to see Lindsay Kemp's "Flowers" based on Jean Genet's work at Her Majesty's' Theatre in about 1976. (Double CHECK Date and theatre!)
I have also been lucky to see the Melbourne Theatre Company present "The Balcony" with many graduates from VCA, WAPPA and NIDA. A very memorable show that some of the actors nicknamed "ker-plop" for the sound of audience members leaving as their seats made a speedy exir or a definite sound of displeasure at their retreat. It was their loss as they missed a great work.
Visually, "The Maids" is a stunning piece of theatre with the use of cameras to project close up live action images of the actresses on to the screen. The images of luxury and indulgence were also projected. These included the flowers, jewellery, fur coats, designer dresses, gowns and shoes. We had the obligatory Chanel advertisement - which was as subtle as the play's execution!
The camera in the base of the dressing table mirror gave us extreme close ups of these stunningly emotional faces.
The flowers were like a funeral parlour and the final scene heightened their relevance and their sinister and apparent omnipresence. This also emphasised the imminent ending.
The use of the off-stage bathroom with the cameras revealed the private moments of supposed luxury and indulgence. All people go to the loo! Or "Your shit stinks too" as Aussies would say! It also reminded me of the Spanish company who performed Hamlet at the Melbourne Festival a few years ago. This Spanish company demonstrated the ever-so natural behaviour for people to have body evacuations. The relevance is like the philosophy of the reality of mortality as portrayed in a still life painting. Or as Alain de Botton says about pigs they are happy and people who fart together are happier. This house was like the Mistress's pig sty!
"The Maids" reflects life of greed, jealousy and revenge. It also mirrors the influence of fantasy as a strategy to cope with their life of servitude. What is reality? What is fantasy? As Solange steps from the white stage down on to the black walkway she breaks through the fourth wall and shatters the mirror. She shatters the mirror for us and herself. She teases us with a brief seduction of what is reality and fantasy, and then re-enters the white stage.
"The Maids" is brilliantly acted by all three fine actresses who deliver a visual treat. Vocally Cate Blanchett's voice delivers a vast range of emotional responses revealing truth, fantasy and reality. Hostile revenge and the ritual of the sister's ceremony is sinister and child like role playing.
Elizabeth Debicki as the Mistress arrives after the two sisters have cleaned up after their ceremony. Here we see a spoiled and indulgent woman who pisses on us. We are beneath her. But she too longs for something better. Each character is encaged as highlighted by the glass walls. They are trapped and longing for inner peace and happiness. Money cannot buy happiness. It is such a wonderfully philosophical work. They should not throw stones in their glass house! They do not throw the stones but they propel them with explosive force!
Even though Isabelle Huppert's French accent was difficult at times to understand this did not bother me. Her acting was sublime and her conviction honest. Some audience members were frustrated that they could not understand her every word. Her mannerisms and expressions were just as telling and gave me a very clear message of her relationship with the younger Claire and her Mistress.
I have seen "The Maids" three times before and Solange had me believing that Claire had been strangled. I knew this was an updated version and I was on the edge of my seat watching Claire to see if she was alive. (I will not spoil the ending.) Thank you for transporting me on a journey of fantasy and reality and maximising my attention span.
The new translation by Benedict Andrews and Andrew Upton had me in the palm of these actresses' hands. This version was about fifteen minutes longer than I have seen and made the journey richer with action and motivations and thus made it clearer and more sinister.
The direction by Benedict Andrews was sensationally focused and clever. He gave us so much action that kept me transfixed by their antics. I did not care that I could not see from a slightly restricted view as it heightened the sinister nature of not seeing what was happening. We could see parts of the action reflected in the glass walls opposite, or, on the screen.
The design by Alice Babidge was brilliantly effective and clean and fresh providing us to be invited into a decadent and indulgent world that would be the play room for the maids. Lighting design by Nick Schlieper provided clear shifts in focus and transitions of fantasy and reality. The sound composition by Oren Ambarchi gave us an edgy undercurrent of trepidation.
Video design and operation by Sean Bacon allowed us to see the magnifications of ourselves. From the ultra close ups of faces, jewellery, clothes and shoes. Finally to the obscure still life shots of flowers. These flowers can be romantic, celebratory and funereal. Flowers die eventually and so must the Mistress.
Thank you Sydney Theatre Company for "The Maids" and showcasing our Australian exports of the arts to the USA. We got to witness this fine Australian talent with Isabelle Huppert in New York City!
Yes and it was me who left an apron with an Australian Flag for the cast and crew to sign as a memento of your time in New York City. Hopefully the cast and crew do sign it and either keep it for Sydney Theatre Company or give it to the New York City Center Theater.
Congratulations to the New York City Center Theater for their very specific announcement which also includes "This means no texting during the show."
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