The Maids at Unity Theatre, Liverpool Review
Written by Roby for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
‘The Maids’ is a play by the French dramatist Jean Genet, which has been translated into English by David Rudkin. This production at the Unity Theatre is certainly bold and has a powerful message but is at times quite confusing.
The show begins with the two maids, Solange (Samuel Perez Duran) and Claire (Cameron McKendrick), emerging from four crates stacked on top of each other. These are then used as the main set throughout the play and are reoriented to create many crisp layouts. These look great and allow for obvious power dynamics between the two characters when role-playing as the maid and ‘Our Lady’. The set and costume design by Ashley Sharp is nice throughout. I loved the lack of wings and the exposure of the stage lights, which really emphasise the fictitious, theatrical nature of the role-play between the characters. My favourite set piece, however, was the lovely ‘flower curtain’, that really filled the stage and looked impressive. The lighting design by Phil Saunders is also good. The technical elements of this show are a true standout.
As well as this, the three performers themselves are all strong and play their roles well. However, at times, clarity of diction is lost. The power dynamics between the three are great and enforce the message of the show well. Jane Hogarth has a great amount of fun onstage as ‘Our Lady’, but occasionally plays for laughs that she doesn’t always receive. Perhaps this was due to the nature of the matinee audience, but occasionally moments that were supposed to be ‘comic’ fell flat and, as a result, a bit awkward. As well as this, the rather erotic opening of the show between Solange and Claire I found was overplayed and as a result awkward and cringe. Nevertheless, directors Elinor Randle and Izzie Major (Assistant Director) have staged most scenes well, although their overuse of confetti is often a bit confusing. At first, I thought it was used as an explosion of passion, yet then it became a symbol of flowers, even though there was a huge flower curtain at the back of the stage. This motif just fell flat for me and was rather confusing.
Another particularly confusing moment of the show for me was the ending; it was quite ambiguous and oddly paced. However, I think ultimately this is a result of the original material and not this interpretation. ‘The Maids’ itself is quite an odd play, that is handled well in this production at the Unity Theatre, but too often misses the mark for me, partly due to the original material itself.
★★
