Represent Review: The Maids @ WITS
Sharpile Linda for the review – catch The Maids at WITS before the 26th May:
Do yourself a favour – read the play by Jean Genet (or read something about it) before you go and watch this stage adaptation.
The opening scenes are vague, abstract. I felt a bit lost in the beginning, but I was fine again when I eventually realised that there were two characters playing each of the maids. The first scene opens in a boudoir, opulent with red velvets white lace and flowers, where the two maids, Solange and Claire (played by four characters) take turns acting out the part of their employer, Madame. This ritual, which they perform nightly, is great parody, mimicking and exaggerating Madame’s whims and irrational demands – almost reminiscent of our own “Madam and Eve”, only more sinister. In the maids’ game, they try to kill Madame.
Madame is obnoxious and completely self-absorbed, languishing after her lover (Monsieur) who is in prison because a whistleblower alerted the police to his involvement in shady dealings.
The master/slave relationship is depicted with poignancy and depth. The maids envy Madame’s lifestyle and wealth, but pity her loneliness and are at turns amused and disgusted by her condescending attitude towards them.
Madame is plagued by guilt and sometimes irritation at the maids’ obsequiousness, but also has a malicious streak. In one scene she gives them gifts – a fine evening gown and a fur coat, but soon changes her mind and takes the gifts back, paying scant attention to the maids’ humiliation and disappointment.
The maids’ imaginary desire to kill Madame has self-destructive consequences for them, but I won’t give away the story. The acting is superb and there are some really intense moments.
The play has some powerful messages about the imbalance of power in domestic workers’ relationships with their employers. In one scene, Claire makes a profound statement, “her joy feeds off our shame”, which certainly gave me pause for thought.
I would love for someone to take the bold step of adapting this to a South African context.
Catch this play at the Wits Amphitheatre from 16th to 26th May. Tickets at Computicket.
