The Maids, Trafalgar Studios

While this was not what I expected, it is great fun!

Genet's play is about identity, who we are at any moment, and how that changes. It is also about how the stories we tell ourselves change who we are. When we roleplay and dress up, do we become more ourselves, or less ourselves, and do we even have a core self?

All these concerns are beautifully addressed in Jamie Lloyd's rollicking playful and camp version of Genet's play.

What Lloyd does not do is succomb to the starkness of Genet's vision, the horror of not knowing who we are, the despair behind the need to become something else. After all, Genet's plot was inspired by a true story of murderous maids, and though that was just a jumping off point for Genet's wholly original tale, the darkness of that act informed Genet's play.

Genet uses sadomasochism as his principal vehicle for exploring identity, the fantasy assumption of powerful and vulnerable roles to get in touch with hidden parts of our ourselves. Genet's play envisions behaviour that is extreme, whips a-go-go, behaviour which would need to be policed by safewords, at the very least.

Jamie Lloyd jetisons the whips for a more audience-friendly cosy and camp and hilarious mode of roleplay: less like adults beating each other senseless, more like children cursing each other in the playground. The "c" word is bandied about not with the spite and venom of adults, but with the mischief and glee and playfulness of children.

Appropriate to this take on the material, the stage, gilded with sparkling lights around the edges, resembles the interior of a rectangular dolls house full of pretty flowers waiting for little girls to come inside and play dress up.

The result is a production full of wonderful, mischievous and relentlessly entertaining playfulness, that allows all three actors to shine. The actors seem to be playing versions of Roald Dahl characters from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: as the Mistress, Laura Carmichael struts like a grown-up Veruca Salt, spoiled and selfish as ever, telling herself ridiculous stories of her own magnificence and munificence and believing them; Zawe Ashton's Claire is like a grown-up Violet Beauregarde, effervescent with the spirit of her aggressive competitiveness and her own relentless self-regarde; and Uzo Aduba is like Willy Wonka himself, the zany playful magician who's every word cannot be trusted, who appears most in charge when apparently not in charge at all.

By sacrificing the absolute sadism and seriousness of Genet's vision, Lloyd denies the ending to this play the sense of inevitability that it could have, but by extending the camp comic reach of the play, he opens up it's considerations about the mysteriousness of identity to the broadest possible audience in the most entertaining and wonderful way.

4 stars.

Saw the matinee today. Huge fan of both Uzo Aduba and Zawe Ashton already and thought they were both excellent in this, particularly Uzo, I was in the back row and still got so much from her performance. Wasn't sure for the first 30 mins but enjoyed it from Laura Carmichael's appearance onwards. Loved all the little trapdoors in the stage too.

Straight through

! !

Reminder that £15 Monday tickets for March are now on sale (I'd forgotten but just booked )

I managed to secure myself two tickets for next Monday's performance. I actually cannot for this now!

I'm definitely making a more concerted effort to see more plays this year alongside the musicals. I'm not sure whether it's because I'm broadening my horizons or simply a case that lots of plays that appeal to me have reared their heads.

Just a point of interest for anyone hoping to book on a £15 Monday, the tickets seemed to be released around 10:00 (yes I did check periodically!)

Me too! (thanks to Xanderl's reminder.) I think I'm in row D.

I read Michael Billington's 4 star review before I went in, for a heads up, in Caffe Nero, near by.

However viewing the play I thought I bet Quentin Letts of the Daily Mail will hate this and checked on my ipad on the way home and he gave it 1 star, so no surprise there, but the real surprise here is when I find myself siding with Quentin, his review was spot on.

The play tried to rip off the staging of the New Vic's A View From The Bridge, however that staging for Bridge just bottled up the emotional intensity of the piece, this was evident here, the play was plodding and therefore, very much third division. Annoying music was also channeled out into the very uncomfortable auditorium.

Sorry I don't understand all the love for Jamie Lloyd?

One star from Quentin and also from me.

The production doesn't do much to make the play more accessible and by going for some over-obvious laughs detracts from its seriousness. And mke no mistake: this is a serious play dealing with issues of identity, alienation and powerplay. If you find camp stuff automatically funny wel ok, I don't.

Acting is energetic but I do wonder if the first half isn't too energetic, it means the play is one-paced and makes its verbosity tedious. A more nuanced build-up to a crescendo of activity and then bringing it down to a slower climax is, I feel, the correct way to do this.

Genet was fond of sado-masochistic sex and he lets that permeate much of his work; no greater mystery here. He was also a great admirer and student of violence and that definitely also goes into his work.

The acting makes it worthwhile but as someone else said this is style over substance and is more of a historical record of what we found shocking than shocking in itself.

Oh dear. I've booked to see this in a months time and so far it's hardly been raved about. I am a fan of Jamie Lloyd so hopefully I'll enjoy this though.

Saw this last night. Loved it. Impeccable performances from all three. Loved the staging (almost like watching an exhibit in a bell jar) and the sound design really added to the mood and helped maintain a feeling of unease throughout.
The 2 hours (longer than usual?) flew by - even in those awful seats. Would have been upset if I'd had a stage seat as 80% or more was played to the main house.
Highly recommended.