Reading Rep’s new play The Maids is proving a smash-hit even before it comes to town.
The show, a co-production with Jermyn Street Theatre, is being performed in London until Wednesday, January 22. The reviews have been so good that audiences have been flocking to see it, with some night the full house sign being put up in the foyer.
Reading audiences won’t have long to wait to see The Maids: it transfers to Reading Rep’s theatre on Kings Road later this month, with opening night being Tuesday, January 28, and the final curtain on Saturday, February 8.
It tells the story of two maids, Solange and Claire, who are sisters with a secret.
When their wealthy, glamorous madam is away, they fill their time roleplaying as mistress and maid in her lavish bedroom.
However, their private ritual is not harmless fun. A shocking revelation soon turns their world into a deadly game of cat and mouse and the true intentions of their power play are unveiled.
Jean Genet’s classic play has scandalised audiences since 1947. Inspired by the real murders committed by the Papin sisters, the loose lines between fantasy and reality blur with breathtaking consequences.
This spectacle of rage and revenge explodes onto the Jermyn Street Theatre stage for the first time in a co-production with Reading Rep.
Based on the original work by Jean Genet, it has been translated by Martin Crimp and directed by Annie Kershaw. It stars Anna Popplewell, making a return to Reading Rep after starring in Hedda Gabler, as Solange, Carla Harrison-Hodge (Machinal – Old Vic Theatre, Amadeus – National Theatre) as Mistress and Charlie Oscar (Plaza Suite – Savoy Theatre, Mad House – Ambassadors Theatre) as Claire.
The play has been a hit with reviewers: The Daily Telegraph giving it four stars and saying that “Jean Genet’s radical spirit is alive and well in this searing adaptation”, while The Guardian, also giving it four stars, said The Maids has “a magnificent cast enacting their enraged power battles”, and “this subtle and artful production keeps the drama’s hallucinatory quality, but brings a counterintuitive naturalism to the fore”.
Carne deputy director and Genesis Future Directors Award winner Annie Kershaw is returning to Reading Rep Theatre for The Maids, following the sell-out success of Hedda Gabler in 2023.
A Reading native, beginning her career in the Reading Rep Youth Theatre more than 10 years ago.
Reading Rep Theatre is proud to elevate Reading artists and support the incredible legacy of work Annie is forging nationally.
Cat Fuller is the set and costume designer, Joe Dines is the composer and sound designer, Catja Hamilton is the lighting designer and Adi Gortler as Movement and Intimacy Director.
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Artistic director of Reading Rep Theatre Paul Stacey says it is “an absolute pleasure” for the Reading Rep Theatre team to reunite with Annie and Anna, after the sell-out success of Hedda Gabler last year.
“We have worked with Annie for over 10 years, with her company A Girl Called Stephen being an Associate Company, and we are thrilled to have her at the helm of this new production and to be able to elevate Berkshire artists,” he continued.
“We are also very excited for this new chapter of Reading Rep Theatre: The Maids marks the theatre’s first co-production with Jermyn Street Theatre, as well as Reading Rep Theatre’s London debut, which will be quickly followed by The Importance of Being Oscar transferring to London following its acclaimed run at Reading Rep Theatre earlier this year.”
And the partnership is welcomed by Stella Powell-Jones, the artistic director of Jermyn Street Theatre, who said: “Having worked so closely with Annie during her time with us as Carne Deputy Director, I’ve known for a while that this production would be something special.
“I knew her forensic intelligence on text and her bold, uncluttered theatrical imagination would be such a good fit for Martin Crimp’s exquisite translation of The Maids.
“But now that she has assembled the most extraordinary cast, I’m even more impatient for rehearsals to begin.”
The Maids is the first 2025 production of Reading Rep Theatre’s ReImagine season.
Reading Rep: ReImagine marks Reading Rep’s 14th year of producing contemporary theatre that places Reading at the heart of the national cultural landscape.
This year will also include a collaboration with Newbury’s award-winning Watermill Theatre, with Camille Ucan’s exceptional play Three Hens in a Boat (May 1-17).
The play will be a fascinating, hilarious and provoking adaptation of the Jerome K Jerome’s beloved novel Three Men in a Boat.
The season will also include Sam Amestoy’s new family show Rainbow Rescue (February 20-22), which will tour Berkshire libraries following its theatre run.
Micheál Mac Llammóir’s The Importance of Being Oscar, directed by Michael Fentiman (March 28- April 19) will also transfer to Jermyn Street Theatre following its successful run at Reading Rep Theatre last summer.
The production was a collaboration between Original Theatre and Reading Rep Theatre.
How to get tickets for Reading Rep’s The Maids
The play is performed at Reading Rep Theatre on Kings Road from 7.30pm daily apart from Sundays from Tuesday, January 28, through to Saturday, February 8. A Saturday matinee takes place at 3pm.
A relaxed performance will take place on Tuesday, February 4.
Ticket prices are from £16 to £23.50, and can be bought by logging on to www.readingrep.com or calling the box office on 0118 370 2620.
The theatre is on the corner of Reading College’s site, and car parking is available.
A number of buses stop outside the theatre including the Purple 17, the Lion 4, and the Orange 13/14.
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