Theatrius
  • Now Playing
  • All Reviews
  • Writers
  • Reflections
  • Millennial Notes
  • Join Us
  • About Us
  • Search Icon

Theatrius

Theater Reviews—San Francisco and Beyond

“After Miss Julie”─A Fiery Collision of Class & Sex, at Main Stage West, Sebastopol

“After Miss Julie”─A Fiery Collision of Class & Sex, at Main Stage West, Sebastopol

February 23, 2019 Jennifer Charron

Patrick Marber Exposes Tyranny of the One Percent

by Jennifer Ann Charron

“After Miss Julie” explores the clash of class and sex in a bedlam of emotions in 90 swift minutes. Patrick Marber’s redo of August Strindberg’s tragedy “Miss Julie” moves from 1888 Sweden to 1945 England, on the night of the Socialist Labour Party’s landslide victory. Churchill is voted out and hopes for social equality are in. Or are they?

Marber points to post-war Britain and Labour’s shocking upset to anchor our attention on the class divide. Sexual politics and gamesmanship divert us, as sex and politics ignite his rich comedic drama.

Ilana Niernberger & Sam Coughlin

“After Miss Julie” introduces us to three characters: flirtatious Miss Julie (the unflinching Ilana Niernberger), the daughter of a posh, snobbish Labour Party supporter; Christine (adroit Jenifer Cote) a solid church-going cook; and John, the chauffeur, Christine’s almost-fiancée (skilled Sam Coughlin.)

While Marber spotlights Miss Julie as the focal point and tarnished heroine of the play, the role of John, as well as Sam Coughlin’s performance, dominate Main Stage West’s production.

Sam Coughlin & Ilana Niernberger

John is assaulted from both sides, throwing him into conflict. He is willing and able to dominate both Christine and Julie, both of whom he perceives as weak. But Coughlin’s John cannot break away from his bosses, who remain his “social superiors.” Coughlin expertly delivers the air of a defeated man, who dreams of equality, but is too proud and afraid of freedom to walk away from his job as a servant to the rich.

“After Miss Julie” begins downstairs, in the servants-only kitchen, emphasizing the upstairs/downstairs dynamic of class division. Elizabeth Craven’s scenic design demonstrates her usual heightened attention to detail. I swear that coffee grinder came right out of my Irish grandmother’s kitchen!

Ilana Niernberger & Jennifer Cote

Spoiled rich girl Miss Julie, a proverbial femme fatale, spends the evening dancing, cavorting and ‘slumming’ with “the help” at a barn dance. Christine, the exhausted, reliable cook, awaits John for one last dance of the evening. Cote’s pragmatic Christine possesses amazing quiet awareness and sensitivity.

When John arrives, he shares a simple easiness with Christine, while they quietly celebrate the beginning of the working man’s era. Drunken and flush from a night of endless flirting, Miss Julie, their employer’s daughter, intrudes upon their space, making a beeline for John. Clearly, they are playing an ongoing sexual game, playfully trying to seduce each other. I watch, sickened, while neither tries to hide their demented game from the earnest Christine.

At this moment, each actor’s commitment proves hypnotic, drawing me in. They channel the essence of their characters so precisely, that I find myself leaving the story to admire their raw craft.

Sam Coughlin & Ilana Niernberger

Sex momentarily distracts our attention from class, as their evening turns into a psychotic whirlwind of seduction, and sado-masochistic emotions. Marber delivers a macabre, tragic dance of weakness and vulnerability. The collision is deadly; the fallout is tragic.

When the fire burns out, we understand with chilly resolve, that class and status grip us more than we realize. Are we hostages to fortune? Can we ever escape our class origins?

Despite our fondest desires for hope and change, we may all be held back by our conventional notions. “After Miss Julie” shows that habits are harder to break than we thought.

  • 52688522 2553887997960253 2064090252288458752 O
  • 52341885 2553888441293542 8249594047660818432 O
  • 52297906 2553888114626908 5255184351158599680 O
  • 52008478 2553888544626865 2209808992174080000 O
  • 51928024 2553888401293546 6463363315857883136 O
  • 51826029 2553911887957864 45465239600234496 O

“After Miss Julie” by Patrick Marber, directed by Elizabeth Craven & David Lear, at Main Stage West, Sebastopol, California, through Sunday, March 3, 2019. Info: mainstagewest.com

Cast: Jenifer Cote, Sam Coughlin, and Ilana Niernberger.


Plays
Boss, Britain 1945, Post-War England, rich/poor, Sado-masochism, Strindberg, Upstairs/Downstairs, worker

Post navigation

NEXT
Hamilton Nguyen
PREVIOUS
“Last Sermon of Sister Imani” Ignites Black Renaissance, at TheatreFirst, Berkeley
Comments are closed.

Menu

  • Now Playing
  • All Reviews
  • Writers
  • Reflections
  • Millennial Notes
  • Join Us
  • About Us

BLM

Black Lives Matter

Subscribe for upcoming reviews!
Loading

Current Shows

  • “Dry Powder” Spotlights Wall Street Power-Brokers—at Left Edge
  • “Pride and Prejudice, The Musical” Enchants with Sass & Satire—at Ross Valley
  • “Clue” Melds Mystery & Comedy into Entertaining Adventure—at SF Playhouse
  • “Donna”: Intimate Interviews Celebrate Trans Triumphs—On Screen
  • “Fannie”: Sixties Spirituals Pave Path to Freedom—at TheatreWorks
  • “’Tasha” Tackles Raw Racism—at 3Girls
  • “Tea Party” Brews Up a Cup of America—at The Strand
  • “A Raisin in the Sun” Explodes with Drama and Power—at 6th Street
  • “Cambodian Rock Band” Deserves Its Standing Ovation—at Berkeley Rep
  • “Cambodian Rock Band” Mixes Nostalgic Hits with Terror—at Berkeley Rep
  • “Fun Home” Seduces with Strong Songs & Sultry Sass—at Berkeley Playhouse
  • “Anything Goes”: It’s Delightful, It’s Delicious, It’s De-lovely—at 42nd Street Moon
  • “SIX, The Musical” Celebrates Women’s Freedom & Individuality—at BroadwaySF
  • “Fun Home” Bursts with Love & Feeling—at Berkeley Playhouse
  • “Dear San Francisco” Wows with Kaleidoscopic Acrobatics—at Club Fugazi

About us:

If you want to see the best plays & performances around the San Francisco Bay or beyond, read our reviews. We promise to give you a true report on the best shows.
Bay Area Critics Circle

Barry David Horwitz, Editor of Theatrius, is a Voting Member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics' Circle, SFBATCC. Follow us on: facebook.com

© 2023   All Rights Reserved.