The Street Theatre | Review by Rohan Alston-Fisher
Absurdism Verges on Opaque in Intense Masterpiece
9 June 2025
Jean Genet’s The Maids is nothing short of an intense masterpiece. An absurdist, existential work about truth, hatred, power, rebellion and of course, maids, the play presents an enormous challenge, which has been impressively taken on by The Street Theatre. Christina Falsone (Solange), Sophia Marzano (Claire) and Natasha Vickery (The Mistress) performed the parts to their credit.
There were a few issues with Marzano’s projection at the start of this preview showing, but that was cleared up quickly within the first scene and didn’t diminish the impact of the acting or the story. Kimmo Vennonen’s sound design was incredibly powerful and suited the intensity of the play, with the strongest parts of the story taken that extra mile by the tense and stressful ambience, and silences broken by abrasive stings.
However, the production did seem to be overdoing the absurdism, almost using it as an excuse for making the characters so fluid in personality. This does create a gap between the audience and the characters, and at times the actors’ choices created further confusion in a text which is already difficult to understand. There’s also the question of whether this play is entirely relevant to today’s society. Communism is hardly as big a threat, to France or Australia, as it was at the time Genet wrote the play in the 1940s, and the inescapable social system of society the play depicts isn’t as much of an issue in the modern-day world.
If you get a chance to see this production while it’s at The Street Theatre, I would recommend taking it; even if you don’t like absurdism, I found it incredibly entertaining and enjoyable.
Rohan Alston-Fisher has been with Canberra Youth Theatre for a number of years and joined their Young Critics program in the hopes of enhancing his skills as a writer and actor, and to have a great time watching and discussing theatre with friends. He has had a passion for theatre and acting since a young age, so he’s enjoying the chance that Young Critics has given him to review and watch productions all around Canberra. Rohan is also a part of Next Stage, Canberra Youth Theatre’s workshop program for young actors interested in a professional career.
