Little Miss Julie - 9 out of 10
Sturm Theatre Company
TICKETS: Little Miss Julie | Adelaide Fringe
Little Miss Julie is a new adaptation of August
Strindberg’s 1888 play, Miss Julie, written by James Harvy and presented
by the newly formed Sturm Theatre Company. With Strindberg’s original work
running an already lean 80 to 90 minutes, Harvy has done well to bring it down
to just over an hour, tailoring it perfectly for the fast-paced Fringe circuit.
Harvy’s adaptation shifts Strindberg’s tragedy of desires
for social mobility and self-discovery to the basement kitchen of a New York
City mansion in the Gilded Age. Social class is still a strong divide between
our characters, but Harvy introduces age into the power dynamics, taking
Strindberg’s original 5-year age gap and aging Miss Julie down to 21 and John
up to at least 35.
The standout of this production is its ensemble: Harvy as
John, Ruby Patrich as Julie, and Sarah Jeavons as Christine. Harvy and Jeavons
share the stage like an old married couple and present John and Christine with
the full and complex past that the characters share together. Their accents
throughout the show were accurate and never got in the way of the audience
understanding their lines.
Harvy’s portrayal of John and the gradual reveal of a
scheming social climber is nuanced; he presents the character’s manipulation of
others as a rational, almost reasonable response to the desire for a better
life. Patrich effectively embodies the innate privilege of Julie’s upbringing
and the emotional rollercoaster she undergoes in the second half of the show.
Her desperation is palpable upon discovering she has no way out – realising she
was never truly in control, but rather seduced and used by John. Meanwhile,
Jeavons tackles the production’s most challenging role; Harvy’s adaptation
further corrupts Strindberg’s hypocritical moral centre, providing a pragmatic,
darker backstory for how she secured John’s position. This gives Jeavons a
substantial, cynical foundation to latch onto when she ultimately refuses to
aid Julie in her hour of need.
The set is sparse, with some old pine furniture making up
the basement kitchen; everything has a purpose for being there. They don’t make
the mistake of trying to use the entire depth of the stage, thereby adding to
the claustrophobic nature of the play, furthering the clear intentionality of
the set and blocking. The sound design has been well crafted, providing just
the right amount of scene setting while allowing the actors to be the sole
focus of the audience. While the set and sound craft a tight, naturalistic
world, the lighting falters with unintentional shadows and jarring transitions
that pull the audience out of the kitchen’s intimacy.
Harvy, Jeavons, and Patrich should be incredibly proud of
the work they have created and in originating these new interpretations of
Strindberg’s characters. Harvy certainly needs to get this new adaptation
published and licensed; I suspect theatre companies across Australia and around
the English-speaking world will want to add it to a future season.
–Scott
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