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| Photo from National Theatre's website: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/julie |
In advance of this new adaptation, I read the original to see what key themes I needed to look out for. I'm so glad I did. Not because it was difficult to follow or understand or anything, but because the original play has something that the new play lacks.
The original is set in a Count's household in Sweden, and deals with issues of religion, status and sexuality. It explores what it means to be free and the constraints of society. I've seen a few productions of classics (such as Julius Caesar and Macbeth) and so am familiar with the difficulties that directors can face when attempting to bring traditional themes into a modern setting.
The play opened with flashing lights and pulsing music, as dancers stumbled around in an intoxicated performance: it was clearly a 21st century party. A screen came down to hide the party and we were downstairs in the kitchen; Christina (Thalissa Tiexeira) and Jean (Eric Kofi Abrefa) kicked off the dialogue with the opening scene.
The set was aesthetically pleasing - everything was symmetrical and white, and all dishwashers and rubbish bins were hidden within the kitchen counters. This gave the kitchen a modern yet clinical feel, representative of the society which we learn Julie feels trapped in.
As I expected, Vanessa Kirby was fantastic as Julie, bringing sexuality, childishness and insanity to the role all at once. She wore a long skirt which she was constantly fiddling with and pulled up past her knees whenever she sat down, and the straps of her bralette were rarely on her shoulders.
As Julie's character spiralled into insanity and self-loathing, certain elements were adapted. A staple moment for me was when she kills her bird: traditionally, Jean uses a knife to decapitate it on a chopping board, as if it were a piece of meat for cooking. In this new version, Julie takes the bird to the blender and quickly turns in on, leaving a bloody mess. Having Julie kill the bird herself in such a violent way changes the meaning of this moment. The scene is no longer linked to the execution of Saint John the Baptist, but becomes a moment of taking control in a messy, impulsive way.
As we walked home, we discussed the moral of the play and what message we were taking away from it. I'd like to say we discussed misogyny or racism or sexuality. Unfortunately, we talked about the dangers of drugs and excessive drinking and how people, especially those of a high profile, get themselves into that state. While this is not a bad moral for a play to have, it is not what the directors said they were going for in the pre-show interview.
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