Sydney Reviews

Left – Isabelle Huppert and Cate Blanchett. Photo – Lisa Tomasetti

Two maids, Claire (Cate Blanchett) and Solange (Isabelle Huppert) indulge in sexual fantasies, taking turns playing the role of their mistress (Elizabeth Debicki) who has enslaved them. Both maids dream of freedom but do either of them have the nerve to actually kill their mistress when she returns?

The Maids is an adaptation by Andrew Upton and Benedict Andrews of the 1947 play by Jean Genet which is loosely based on a real life murder, carried out by maids. Genet was quite the devious individual himself. He was made a ward of the state before he was one year old and became a thief and prostitute during his early adult life. Jean-Paul Sartre read one of his first novels, and lobbied for his release from life in prison, declaring him “a thug of genius.” So began Genet’s career as a writer.

The Maids is both a piece of absurdist theatre and a psychological character study. This house is the maids’ life. They know the outside world only in shadowy fragments. They are simultaneously grateful for the kindness of their mistress and repulsed by the way she has enslaved them

Cate Blanchett gives an acting master class with her performance as Claire, from her dominance over Solange to her extreme vulnerability in the hands of her mistress. Blanchett’s diction is strong and melodic. She has quite the vocal range, which is something only fully appreciated live on stage. You can see her breathing heavily as she takes her bows, finally getting respite from this physically and emotionally draining role. Huppert’s Solange, is a good compliment with her bursts of hysterical laughter played against Blanchett’s intense neurosis.

The big screen above the stage is a curious feature of the production. It provides close-ups of faces and flowers, and shows the action in the bathroom when the actors go offstage. It is distracting at times, and gives the production a cinematic feel. Quite ironic since, for many theatre goers, a big drawcard is seeing Cate Blanchett live in the flesh instead of on “the big screen”.

The use of music is wonderfully spare. It is absent for most of the play then appears to exist at a sub-conscious level, revealing itself at uncomfortable moments when the tension peaks.

There is a fair bit going on in Sydney at the moment, with Vivid and The Sydney Film Festival in in full swing. So it seems a bold move by the Sydney Theatre Company to open one of the major drawcards for its 2013 season this long weekend. It is well worth escaping darkened cinemas, though, for some truly hypnotic flesh and blood acting.


Sydney Theatre Company presents
The Maids
by Jean Genet | translation by Benedict Andrews and Andrew Upton

Director Benedict Andrews

Venue: Sydney Theatre, 22 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
Dates: 4 June - 20 July 2013
Tickets: $50 - $105
Bookings: 02 9250 1777 | sydneytheatre.com.au