The Street Theatre | Review by Ekaterina Maric
What a Maid is Made of
8 June 2025
The Maids constantly contrasts the powerful and the powerless, the rich and the poor. Downtrodden sisters, Claire and Solange, stand out in their plain, understated costumes against the richness of the gowns, jewels and cushions that surround them. This interpretation of Jean Genet’s disturbing masterpiece highlights the lavishness of conspicuous luxury, theirs to clean, care for, but never possess, inspiring a self-destructive aspiration somewhere between disgust and desire. The Street Theatre’s unsettling production of Martin Crimp’s modern translation seeks to remind us that the exploitation of the lower classes will always be a rampant issue.
Written and set in 1940s France, The Maids explores the actions of two sisters, Claire (Sophia Marzano), and Solange (Christina Falsone), who work as maids for a rich woman, ‘The Mistress’ (Natasha Vickery). Their mistreatment leads them to playing a strange game where one acts as The Mistress and they plot the actions they wish they could take. Through this twisted role-play, The Maids explores the inherent complexities of power imbalances between servant and served.
While the intention of the script was certainly clear, I did find it hard to connect with the source material’s meaning, in the context of this production. It felt like being told something that is already starkly clear — that class imbalances are unjust and lead to evils being committed — with no fresh, or otherwise interesting opinion being offered. The themes of this play are still relevant today and will likely always be relevant, but I did wish that this had been communicated with a reminder of why this is necessary to say, right at this moment.
The three actresses worked hard to keep the audience engaged during the 1 hour 40 minute running time, without intermission. As Claire, Sophia Marzano brought a strong presence, and when Claire becomes The Mistress, her over-the-top accent and movements were both entirely ridiculous and altogether terrifying. Though I found that Claire’s characterisation seemed to waver in this production, Marzano was certainly a dominating and dynamic force on stage. Christina Falsone as Solange was incredibly grounded, and felt the most real out of all the characters. Her swinging from rationality to madness and her intense eye contact with the audience in the final moments created a lingering, unsettled atmosphere. Natasha Vickery as The Mistress offered a lighter, more comedic characterisation, while also standing as a haunting representation of unjust holders of power in the real world. Vickery was able to harness the most insane sentiments of her character and make them terrifyingly believable, with a meaning that was entirely true to her.
The direction by Caroline Stacey brought the juxtaposition in the script to life. When Claire is acting as The Mistress, she was slow, long, graceful, all representing the carefree actions of the powerful who have all the time in the world. This was immediately contrasted by her sister’s entrance, encapsulating the movement of a powerless maid in her small, quick and erratic steps. With a long, and oftentimes surreally confusing script, artful contrast in design and direction successfully communicated the imbalance at the core of the play.
The Street Theatre’s production of The Maids, led by three incredible actresses, seeks to unpack complexities of class and power in a way that transcends the time difference between its original production and now. Despite a vague application of the plays’ original context and message, the show is thought-provoking and enjoyable overall.
Ekatarina Maric is a passionate writer and theatre goer, aiming to experience all the Canberra theatre scene has to offer. Before graduating, she participated in her high school’s performing arts program as much as possible, including putting on shows that she had written whilst also performing in the cast. Post graduation, she hopes to continue participating in programs such as Canberra Youth Theatre’s Young Critics, and expand her experience in all areas of theatre. She especially loves shows put on and performed by young people, and adores musical theatre.
