Class warfare combines with sexual tension in After Miss Julie, running at the Arts Theatre, 13-18 June. A reworking of August Strindberg’s 1888 classic Miss Julie, the play is set in an English country house on the eve of Labour’s 1945 landslide victory. During a summer ball, the beautiful daughter of a peer wanders into the servants’ quarters in search of excitement and happens across her father’s handsome chauffeur. Ignoring the presence of his fiancée, she begins a flirtation which soon escalates into passionate trysts – with devastating consequences.
Written by Patrick Marber, the play stars Call The Midwife’s Helen George, who recently garnered praise for her impressive stint on Strictly Come Dancing. The Times praised the production’s ‘zinging dialogue, laced with ruthless wit and semi-repressed desire’, whilst Tribune described it as a triumphant and ‘fiercely intelligent reworking’.
Tickets are £18-£38. Performances are 7.45pm nightly, and 2.30pm (Thurs and Sat).
