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After Miss Julie

 
Olivia Thompson Review by Olivia Thompson 3 Published: 23 Feb 2026 Park Theatre London Show Dates: 11 Feb 2026-28 Feb 2026

After Miss Julie is part adaptation and part modernisation of Strindberg’s 1888 tragedy Miss Julie. In this version, written by Patrick Marber, the world of the play is relocated to England in 1945, on the eve of the General Election. As such, the British class system is an integral element of the play: as Clement Attlee’s Labour Party swings into power, promising major social reform, the aristocratic Miss Julie (Liz Francis) goes head to head with her father’s working-class chauffeur, John (Tom Varey). Like the original, their relationship is part frantic love affair and part a repellent denunciation of the other’s way of life. Meanwhile, Christine (Charlene Boyd), John’s fiancée and the house cook, glumly hopes that the affair is short-lived.

The three-person cast deftly carry the play through its most challenging moments

After Miss Julie works well as a modernisation of the original, although it does not particularly reflect or respond to its source material. The three-person cast deftly carry the play through its most challenging moments. The death of Julie’s beloved pet bird is a highlight, as is the following confrontation between Julie and John.

The in-the-round staging creates an intimate and slowly suffocating effect as the kitchen becomes increasingly confining. There is a distracting and seemingly unnecessary choice in repeatedly sending characters through the audience to use a jug of water, but otherwise Dadiow Lin’s direction is successful in establishing the world and especially delineating the class divide between the characters.

A consistent and engaging production, spearheaded by a uniformly talented cast.

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The Blurb:

Strindberg’s darkest romantic tale reimagined by Patrick Marber

On the eve of Labour’s historic 1945 election win, Julie, daughter of a powerful MP, and her father’s chauffeur, John, spark a forbidden flirtation that quickly turns into a tense, deadly struggle for power, desire, and survival.

This brutal love tragedy is brought vividly to life by Patrick Marber, hailed as “the finest British dramatist of his generation,” and best known for his acclaimed plays Dealer’s Choice and Don Juan in Soho, as well as his BAFTA-winning films Closer and Notes on a Scandal.

Kit Bromovsky Productions in association with Park Theatre.