For Homecoming weekend, a trio of seniors from the School of Drama is putting on the production After Miss Julie, adapted from the well-known August Strindberg play, Miss Julie. Written in 1888, Miss Julie remains Strindberg's most famous work, which introduced a new naturalistic form of theater by adhering to a rigid realism in content, staging, and time. This is exactly what Director Ed Iskander has tried to portray in his adaptation, After Miss Julie.

The play goes much beyond a "master-servant" or "battle of the sexes" tag, describing a greater theme, which in the director's words "describes every person's most fundamental fear: loneliness." The ironic base of the play's circumstance lies in the mating dance that human beings are forever entrapped in, which is as necessary as it is destructive.

Set in the grave period just following the Second World War in London, After Miss Julie is about an aristocratic woman's battle for her own body and soul. Miss Julie (CFA senior Kara Lindsay) is an impulsively insane, upper-class "diva" who constantly drifts between social boundaries within her own estate, struggling to negotiate her conditioned obedience to cultural norms and natural longings in order to find love. She continuously goes back and forth between her bodily desire for her servant, John (CFA senior Rich Dreher), and the tendency to control him.
 
John, on the other hand, is confused about who he loves: the eccentric Miss Julie and his sweetheart Christine (CFA senior Kristen Bracken). More over, servitude has been the focus of John's existence, and he struggles to break free from it. His ambition remains to go to New York and begin a new life, to break out of the class barrier, run his own night club, or as he puts it, "to get a taste of the upstairs world." All this while, Christine remains devoted to him, hoping for small glimpses of affection from him. She is also bound by her servitude to Miss Julie, but has learned to live life content that way.

As the drama unfolds, we observe the gradual changes that each character goes through. John is finally faced with the ultimate choice between Miss Julie and Christine. After the way he goes to and fro between Christine and Miss Julie during the course of the play, it is a delight to try and speculate who he will end up with.

All three actors have outdone themselves in their respective roles. Dreher plays the shape-shifter John vibrantly and strongly, portraying to the audience how he's torn between different emotions: the desire for money, craving for a new life, lust for Miss Julie, affection for Christine, and wanting to do the right thing. Lindsay is also a pleasure to watch with her pronounced British accent and exquisite presentation of dialogue, leaving no doubt in the audiences mind as to the time period in which the play is set. To top it all, Lindsay brings life to Miss Julie's insane character making it a fascinating experience to observe Miss Julie's recklessness, her yearning to do as she pleases and to be free from social boundaries.

Even though the cast comprises of just three characters, their powerful dialogue delivery and vivid expressions guarantee to not let even a moment of boredom creep in during the show. The play changes course second by second and is sure to leave the audience holding its breath, wondering what destiny awaits each character.

A performance that creatively explores issues of class distinction, social boundaries, servitude and love, the School of Drama's After Miss Julie is a fascinating show thanks to its immaculate direction and the intensity of the actors.

After Miss Julie is playing in the Philip Chosky Theatre at 8 p.m. on October 11, 12, and 13 with an added 4 p.m. on show on Friday, October 13. Ticketing information can be found at the School of Drama's website or by calling the box office at 412-268-2407. The performances are free and a must-watch.  

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