The Maids, Trafalgar Studios

This was very well acted

But ultimately a massive case of style over substance

The sh*tty Trafalgar Studios are awful

And the play is repetitive and tedious

Also the staging was much better for the recent Broadway run (with a much more prestigious cast to be honest)

Ionlad, we definitely had different audiences, as the chap in front of me laughed like a drain throughout.

I agree that the play is very dark indeed, but my experience of this production is that it was a camp and entertaining rendering of that darkness. And I liked that about it.

First, the constantly repeated use of the "c" word with a spirit of naughtiness and revelry suggests a translation that is primed for the boundary-breaking urges of camp;

Second, the constant smiling and giggling and laughing by Uzo Aduba's Solange served as a surrogate to draw the audience into the play as an elaborately staged game, rather than as do-or-die drama;

Third, the repeated addresses outward toward the audience on both sides, but mostly to the front-facing audience who payed more, suggests a desire to play outwards to the audience as much as to play inward to the drama;

Fourth, the non-naturalistic gilded-chocolate-box-surrounded-by-flashing-lights stage design providing a sparkly fun frame to contain the darkness, serving to leaven and render harmless the soul of Genet's darkness.

At yesterday's matinee of "A Girl is a half-formed thing" at the Young Vic, there was a moment when Aoife Duffin turns her abuses in self-hatred against herself, snarling "hit me in the face." That was far darker than the ladies rolling around in petals, calling each other the "c" word, playing dress-up sadomasochism at the Trafalgar.

By contrast to this production, take a look at this short clip of Glenda Jackson's 1974 performance of Solange (preserved fortuitously for presentation on US television), and you will see how sick, twisted, intense and insular this show can feel:

(This really makes me ache even more for an impossible-to-get Glenda Jackson Lear ticket lol!)

Anyway, we're all different lol.

Thanks for the reminder!

Yes, they go on sale at 10am - queuing system was working from 9:30 ish this morning.

I got 2 for the 28th.

I saw this last night and it's a singular experience. This is a bear pit masquerading as a couture show. The lacerating exchanges between Zawe Ashton and Uzo Aduba have a strikingly baroque quality. Tenderness and acute stabs of pain are undercut by an astonishing level of malevolence. The audience quickly becomes immersed in a pitch black battle of wills. Zawe Ashton gave an incendiary performance. She effortlessly switched from statuesque matriarch elegance to a gawky little sister with astonishing ease. Uzo Aduba's final monologue was equally volcanic. Solange's fractured psyche was revealed in all its glory. Please go and see this if you get the chance, theatre this vital, dangerous and strange doesn't come along too often.

I must admit, none of the reviews exactly made me desperate to see this show, which I was already lukewarm about at best. Have decided to save my £15 for NT booking on Friday instead!

Agree with much of this and saw it last night. While I think the performances are great (particularly Uzo Aduba) and liked the styling, I spent much of the time feeling like the direction just didn't match the subject matter. There was a broad Jamie Lloyd stroke of paint across proceedings that plastered over paying any real attention to the text.

So in summary, I enjoyed it, the performances are brilliant and the visual design and sound production are great, but the latter two just don't feel like there was any consideration of the actual text.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it. As did the majority of the people in the auditorium, I would say.

Has anyone bought a programme and does it say what the exit music was?

I saw it last week and really enjoyed it. Great sound design and all 3 actresses were very impressive.

In that case, apologies!

Well I was mentally exhausted after this! It's very intense and highly stylised. It's like they were little dolls in a giant jewellery box. Some very funny bits as well.

Great performances though - I kept changing my mind throughout the play as to which one I preferred most. I think Zawe Ashton might have just shaded it though - she's fascinating to watch. Really liked Laura Carmichael too, even though she's only in one scene. She gets a terrific entrance and a great opportunity to show that she can play something so different to Lady Edith.

I'll bet they're sick of all that sweeping by the end of the run though.

Oh and if you're at all offended by the "c" word. Stay away. They say it a lot. I mean A LOT.

Hmm, late to the game but I saw this last week and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, it was a very powerful piece, and the acting was excellent, but on the other hand, the story felt muddled, repetitive and just a bit too long really. Plus the entrance of The Mistress and her scenes lifted the whole piece and introduced a new dynamic, and so it was a shame that she only had one scene. Hmm.