Rehearsals got under way in Belfast this week for Prime Cut’s latest production, After Miss Julie. Featuring an outstanding cast, this play comes to us in March and will appeal to fans of period drama and romantic intrigue.
After Miss Julie is Patrick Marber’s rework of August Strindberg’s 1888 iconic play Miss Julie. Originally Marber’s version was set within an English Manor during celebrations for the Labour Party victory in 1945. However Marber has worked closely with Prime Cut’s Artistic Director Emma Jordan and moved the action to Co, Fermanagh during the World War II VE-Day celebrations, placing the play within an Irish context.
After Miss Julie portrays the complex relationship between chauffeur John [Ciaran McMenamin] and the lady of the house Julie [Lisa Dwyer Hogg]. The ill-fated pair is caught up in a lustful tryst during VE-Day celebrations ultimately sealing their fate. Both characters’ moral foundations are repeatedly disrupted once John’s fiancée Christine, played by Pauline Hutton, is introduced to the love affair. What seems like a simple one-night affair develops into a complex chain of events that will fascinate audiences.
Patrick Marber is an award winning playwright and screenwriter. He has won three awards for his stage play Closer including the Laurence Oliver Award for Best New Play and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Foreign Play. His screenplay Notes of a Scandal won best screenplay at the British Independent Film Awards and was also nominated for a BAFTA and an Academy Award.
Emma Jordan is a critically acclaimed director with this production coming hot on the heels of her acclaimed production of Stacey Gregg’s Scorch. “I am so excited to be directing After Miss Julie – I can honestly say that I think Marber’s rework of this classic play is genius. The placing of the action of the play at such a time of seismic change in Ireland and Britain is truly inspiring – the breaking down of the class relationships between the characters is directly mirrored in a world radically changed by World War II and the imminent rise of Labour government”
The cast of three are all experienced established actors on both stage and film with exceptional stage performances seen from each throughout their careers.
Ciaran McMenamin is best known for his film and television roles in such productions as Primeval, Pulling Moves and The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce. This is his first show with Prime Cut Productions. Lisa Dwyer Hogg is best known for her roles in theatre including The Importance of Being Earnest, Marnier and Heartbreak House but also for her TV roles in Waking the Dead, Casualty and the world acclaimed BBC drama The Fall. Pauline Hutton is best known for her career on the Stage for roles in such plays as Brendan At The Chelsea, Antigone and Macbeth, however Pauline has now starred alongside Lisa Dwyer Hogg in BBC Drama The Fall season 2 & 3, and also starred in Five Minutes Of Heaven, BAFTA winner for best drama Channel 4 films.
Saturday 26 March 2016 at 8pm
After Miss Julie
Prime Cut Productions
Tickets: €15/€12 Book now
NB: recommended ages 14+
