Writer: August Strindberg
Adaptor: Laura Lomas
Director: Holly Race Roughan
Smashing into HOME with slick movement from Frantic Assembly and direction from Artistic Director of Headlong Holly Race Roughan – The House Party is a timely and pertinent adaptation of Strindberg’s Miss Julie from playwright Laura Lomas. A triumph in modern playwriting, this production sparks a rocket under celebrated literature and sends it racing and exploding onto today’s stage in a mesmerising crash of light, motion and destruction.
Laura Lomas’ take on Strindberg’s 1888 classic is a masterclass in adaptation – a flawlessly inspired and pertinent relocation to 2025. The celebrated, yet now inevitably antiquated, drama of “upstairs downstairs” relations is reimagined as Julie (Synnøve Karlsen) throws a booze fuelled house party for her 18th birthday. Teetering on the cusp of adulthood Julie, Christine (Sesley Hope) and John (Tom Lewis) navigate a night of drama, excess and revelations, after which nothing will ever be the same.
The House Party exudes tension and instability from its very core. Karlsen’s Julie is fabulously frenetic and fragile while Hope’s Christine is a moving picture of a life burdened far too young, forever in the shadows and waiting for her time to step out.
The action takes place over one night within the sprawling luxury kitchen/diner of Julie’s family home. A large digital clock display serves as a constant reminder of the irrepressible march of time as Julie, Christine and John in turn speculate, fantasise and agonise over what the future may hold for them. Moments of quiet contemplation are frequently vaporised as groups of inebriated young people charge in from different sides, angles and levels on Loren Elstein’s minimalistic ‘grand designs’ style set.
The sole area in which this production falters is in its portrayal of teenage masculinity. Roughan’s decision to have a male character saddled so heavily with quirky intonations and mannerisms – forever diverting to awkward laughs, while faithful in part to many a 19 year old we may have met (thus eliciting a few chuckles from the audience) – feels at times caricatured and stereotypical. This serves as a barrier to the nuance of the character, which in turn makes the chemistry between both Christine and Julie ring hollow and untrue, undermining the stakes and foundations on which the play is based.
A thoughtful and moving production injecting life, and then some, into a well thumbed text – this is classical theatrical adaptation as it should be done.
Runs until 29 March 2025
The Reviews Hub Score
A masterclass in adaptation
