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SYNOOSIS:

On a hot summer night, a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse is about to unfold. Julie, the volatile daughter of a wealthy magnate, yearns to break free from the confines of her family and society. Opposite her stands John, her father's driver who harbours his own desires for rebellion and revolution. Between the two stands Christine, the housekeeper, Julie’s confidant, and John’s wife. What commences as a reckless flirtation evolves into an inescapable stalemate from which no one will walk away unharmed.

Rebecca Frecknall breathes new life into August Strindberg's Miss Julie (1888), bringing it into the 21st century. Themes of class and power, and the consequences of unbridled desires permeate the narrative.

About the Director

Rebecca Frecknall

Rebecca Frecknall's fascination with Miss Julie started years ago. It is perhaps the play that distils the recurring themes of her work (human brutality and vulnerability) into their most extreme forms. As with other titles she has taken on, Frecknall was drawn to the complexity of Strindberg’s original characters and the irresistible challenges they present for the actors who take them on. The roles are some of the greatest written for young actors. They require depths of nuance and demand physical dexterity. Presenting seemingly endless possible choices, the thrill of playing these roles will always be seductive.

Politically charged, the situation of the play unveils the harsh realities of living under patriarchal structures, exposing the paradox of people attempting to live freely within systems created to restrict them. The play unfolds as an exploration of the consequences of living within a construct that inhibits human intimacy and vulnerability and pits people against one another as competitors. The characters navigate a world that drives them into huge loneliness; a catalyst that ultimately leads to self-destruction.

This new version of the play delves into cyclical generational trauma and explores the characters’ inabilities to rewrite their own stories and break free from their labels. Beyond social classes, it becomes a profound exploration of self-perception, as we see the characters transform into the monsters they are deemed by society.

Rebecca Frecknall on Julie:

"I am endlessly fascinated by the power dynamics between men and women on stage, and few plays explore these sexual and political undercurrents in more volatile and complex ways than Strindberg’s Miss Julie.

The three young characters ricochet and rebound between love and hate, desire and repulsion, reckless confidence, and paralyzing fear across one night which changes each of their lives. The kitchen becomes a battleground, a bunker, a stage, a grave, a gymnasium which requires the actors to become emotional gymnasts and push the limits of their craft.

Written over 130 years ago and originally banned for its strong language and sexual content, this play still has the capacity to arrest, shock and provoke an audience. Julie explores just how far humans can push each other and exposes the destructive power we each harbour."

In her home country The United Kingdom, Rebecca Frecknall (1986) is best known for her West End direction of Cabaret – a classic 1960s musical set in 1930s Berlin – for which she received an Olivier Award. The Evening Standard ★★★★★ wrote: “Frecknall proves herself one of our most exciting directors, and she draws superb performances from all involved.”

Rebecca Frecknall is Associate Director at London's Almeida Theatre, where she has directed plays such as Three Sisters (by Chekhov) and A Streetcar Named Desire (by Tennessee Williams). About the latter performance, The Times ★★★★★ wrote: “This is raw, poetic, painful and plausible. Funny, too.”

About the Theatre Company

INTERNATIONAL THEATER AMSTERDAM

Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg and Toneelgroep Amsterdam merged on 1 January 2018, and from the 18|19 season onwards we operate under the name Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA). We are currently working on a new organization that will act as a beacon for contemporary theatre and cater to audiences from Amsterdam and around the world, leading the way at the national and international levels. We produce a high-quality programme with 600 pluriform national and international theatre and dance performances every year, and social programmes that appeal to a wide range of audiences, bringing them new ways of understanding and seeing the world.

CREDITS
after August Strindberg
adaptation and direction Rebecca Frecknall
translation and dramaturgy Anna Sijbrands
scenography Chloe Lamford
light design Jack Knowles
music George Dennis
costumes An D'Huys

cast Eefje Paddenburg, Minne Koole and Hannah Hoekstra