After Miss Julie

Patrick Marber’s After Miss Julie—a taut, post-war reimagining of Strindberg’s Miss Julie—demands a great deal from its cast. With only three characters and a claustrophobic setting, it relies entirely on nuanced performance, tight direction, and emotional precision. MADS version, directed by Izzy Reid, rises admirably to the challenge, offering a compelling and thoughtful evening of theatre that, despite a few uneven moments, ultimately delivers on the play’s dark, psychological promise. 

Lauren Nixon’s Christine is a quiet triumph. As the stoic housekeeper, Christine spends long stretches on stage with little dialogue yet remains entirely watchable. Whether cooking the evening meal, laying a table, or other domestic chores, she embodies the rhythm of a working-class life with unshowy authenticity. It’s clearly a directorial decision to keep her constantly occupied in the domestic space, and it works. If there’s a shortfall, it’s in Christine’s reaction to Miss Julie’s increasingly brazen seduction of her fiancé John. At times, I would have loved to have seen more visible discomfort, more tension bubbling beneath the surface. However, this is more than compensated for in Act Two, when  Christine’s core of iron resolve becomes evident.  Her realisation of John’s betrayal is played with a contained fury that cuts deeper for its restraint. 

Andrea Buccino plays John with the right amount of discomfort and arrogance. John is a deeply conflicted figure, caught between acceptance of his lifestyle, and ambition, desire and decency. Andrea leans convincingly into John’s caddish nature, making him both charming and dislikable—an uneasy mix that suits the character well. However, what’s slightly lacking is the full duality of John: his simultaneous acceptance of his status as a servant and his yearning for escape. I feel that this could have been explored in more depth however, his chemistry with Annie Winch’s Miss Julie fuels the central power struggle effectively. 

Annie Winch gives a magnetic performance as Miss Julie, skilfully portraying a woman conflicted by class, confusion, desire, and personal despair. She begins with poise and glamour—her charm is clear—but as her obsession with John deepens, she descends into instability. At times, her portrayal veers into melodrama, slightly undermining the otherwise naturalistic tone of the production. Yet her emotional commitment is never in question. She captures the raw desperation of a woman aware that her social world is collapsing and that she has no tools left to control it. 

Izzy Reid’s direction keeps the action tightly focused, using the single setting—a kitchen in a post-war English manor—to great psychological effect. The sets were simple but entirely appropriate to the time period.  I appreciated the attention to detail with the set, costumes and props. 

After Miss Julie is not an easy play, and this production handles its complexities with care and confidence. While there are moments where deeper emotional layering would have lifted performances further, what’s achieved here is a slick, thoughtful piece of theatre that captivated its audience. Bravo to all involved—and I look forward to seeing what this company does next. 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.