Seeing Place Theater presents Jean Genet's classic in which two sisters, maids to a wealthy society woman, act out fantasies of class, love and revenge. More…
Solange and Claire are two housemaids who construct elaborate sadomasochistic rituals when their mistress (Madame) is away. The focus of their role-playing is the murder of Madame and they take turns portraying both sides of the power divide. Their deliberate pace and devotion to detail guarantees that they always fail to actualize their fantasies by ceremoniously "killing" Madame at the ritual's dénouement.
See it if A play that has some good acting and direction. If you dont care that its not great, however.
Don't see it if It is not a fantastic all around story but interesting enough.
See it if you'd like a chance to reevaluate a classic modern play in our era of enormous power differential between haves & have-nots.
Don't see it if you get claustrophobic in tiny theater spaces: here you will feel the breeze whenever the actors whoosh by.
Also Seeing Place Theater is consistently good at staging modern or older c... Read more Read less
See it if you appreciate young talent giving all to their performances. You like drama that allows you to contrast past haves and have-nots to today.
Don't see it if you want spiffy action - this ongoing plotting is not the most exciting. You have to view this pay as a product of another age.
See it if Two maids play role games thinking of way to kill their mistress.
Don't see it if Dark at time and confusing too. If you are looking for a funny story.
See it if You want to see an old play done in a very intimate and black box setting
Don't see it if You have no connection to this play. The play is very old very outdated and they didn’t do anything to make it stand out or become different
Also This theater company is a theater company that I root for! I try to se... Read more Read less
See it if your interested in Genet's ideas about how the underprivileged and underappreciated might react to their lack of an escape.
Don't see it if you recognized, like I did, that the real story, that Genet based this play on, is much more interesting today.
Also As Conrad has suggested earlier, the play would be better with male le... Read more Read less
See it if You want to see something completely different from anything else available. It's worth the trip to the East Village for this odd piece.
Don't see it if You don't like to be fully engaged in what you're seeing, or if you are not a fan of small black box theatres.
Also This company is a real treasure, always delivering above and beyond my... Read more Read less
See it if You haven't seen this gripping show before, or even if you have. The Seeing Place Theatre always adds to my understanding with their work.
Don't see it if You don't like small intimate theatre, or want something funny. This thoughtful, involving piece speaks to today's growing income inequality
See it if you enjoy existential stories
Don't see it if you need clearly laid out plots
See it if Great writing and a historically relevant play. Low prices.
Don't see it if You need a perfectly cast trio to make going worthwhile. You expect actor/director to know her lines inside out.
Also The juicy housemaid fantasy does most of the housework itself. Visnar ... Read more Read less
See it if support a small theatre group; all seating is good to allow intimate feeling and to experience the acting up close
Don't see it if you dislike small casts, long monologues of imaginations
Also I kept waiting for something to really happen, but the drama never ful... Read more Read less
See it if like to see the play where craziness took over 2 maids and joyfull game became a diagnosis. Two talented actresses,one actress trying hard
Don't see it if Dislike small theatre, dark comedies with the fantasmagoric dialogs and at times slow and uneven performance; want a solid ending
Also Gaia Visnar is good and mischievous as one of the maids;Christine Redh... Read more Read less
See it if you like plays that interlock fantasy and reality and blur the lines between where fantasy ends and reality begins.
Don't see it if you like clear linear plots and to know exactly what is REALLY happening. Are not a fan of dark comedies and intentional overacting.
Also This ran in rep with the previously reviewed Measure for Measure. The ... Read more Read less
See it if you want to revisit a classic by "bad boy" Genet; you support indie theatre; you were assigned a term paper on it; you can overlook flaws
Don't see it if crisp speech & riveting acting are essential; overheated cellars make you sleepy; class warfare themes bug you; you've yearned for servants
Also When Claire & Solange are left to their role-playing, the dramatic ten... Read more Read less
See it if You just like going to plays
Don't see it if You want a comedy or musical
See it if You love Genet, irrespective of the quality of the production?
Don't see it if I really only enjoyed some of the costuming and 1 of the actors in this. It felt much longer than it was. No part of it worked for me.
See it if You don't mind small production and relatively small stage. Not sure if the sister or the madam got killed in the end.
Don't see it if You need a bit more space with your seat. Or if you are too tired...
See it if you want a chance to see a famous play in the early style of French theater of the absurd.
Don't see it if you don't have patience for a sometimes slow play that veers between absurdity and melodrama.
Also The actress playing Madame is young--perhaps too young. Madame hardly ... Read more Read less
See it if One of the great scripts in theater- playing with paranoia and fantasy.
Don't see it if Uneven acting. The space could use also use a little more acoustic panelling- voices got too much volume and reverb throughout in setting.
See it if like me, you have never seen the play. It isn't done often so here's your chance.
Don't see it if expect quality acting, directing, or production values when you go to the theatre. This is more of a showcase than a true production.
Also This production is the perfect example of why a director should never ... Read more Read less
See it if you want to see a production of this play specifically; want to support small theaters
Don't see it if you want something dark and edgy (the story may be, but this ain't it), want great acting, need big production value
See it if You like plays with difficult plots that are hard to understand. Also if you prefer an intimate setting with a small cast.
Don't see it if You prefer show with a simple plot that you can easily understand and relate to it.
See it if You would like a well-acted production of a play about play-acting maids and their fantasies run amock
Don't see it if You want everything to be a neat package without derangement
See it if Interested in class critique and how fantasy and reality can merge with bad results. And you like tiny theaters
Don't see it if One miscast actor and slow exposition. It wasn't engaging; a number of audience members were nodding off.
Also The actor playing Salange, who is also is the play's director, was not... Read more Read less