Katie Mitchell gives Jean Genet's reflections a European scope by moving his famous postwar maids from Madame's Parisian apartment to the centre of today's Amsterdam, where they become Polish. When their mistress is away, Solange and Claire still play her role, one after the other, imitating her voice and mannerisms, mistreating her and each other... But if Madame wears the clothes and attributes of a powerful boss, there is a clear inversion — in Katie Mitchell's reading, the play becomes more a reflection about patriarchal exploitation than about the domination of some women over others. The deadly fate of the Papin sisters, which inspired Jean Genet's play, now echoes the situation of thousands of women, underpaid economic migrants who lead clandestine lives, crushed by those they have no choice but to depend on. After getting rid of Monsieur by having him thrown into prison, the two maids plot to make Madame, his transvestite partner, disappear as well. Their dangerous game, grippingly suspenseful, soothes their rage, up until the moment it becomes more concrete. Could they really go through with it?
Distribution
Text Jean Genet / Translation Marcel Otten
Direction Katie Mitchell
Dramaturgy Peter van Kraaij / Musique Paul Clark
Stage design Chloe Lamford
Lights James Farncombe
Sound Donato Wharton
Costumes Wojciech Dziedzic
Assistant director Tatiana Pratley
With Thomas Cammaert, Marieke Heebink, Chris Nietvelt
Production
Production Toneelgroep Amsterdam
With the support of Emmerique Granpré Moliere, and for the 71st edition of the Festival d'Avignon : Dutch Performing Arts Fund
Les Bonnes by Jean Genet is published by Editions Gallimard.