THE MAIDS

The stage lights flick up and out flounces Cate Blanchett as Claire, the maid; her anger at the fore as she amusingly and spitefully imitates the “loving” Mistress that degrades her and her sister, Solange (Isabelle Huppert) with her sweetness, daily.

The maids perform their perverse rituals when Mistress is out, trying on her clothes and slipping into a fantasy world full of ecstatic revenge and desperation.

The high calibre of performance is exactly what one expects from a duet between an Academy Award winner and one of France’s most acclaimed actresses.

This English translation of a Jean Genet play by Benedict Andrews and Andrew Upton incorporates creative multimedia, an abstract stage that invites the audience into a prism within the maids’ world. The glass set reflects them one way whilst cameras project the other side onto a large screen, creating a mirror into their spiralling struggle.

Relative newcomer, Elizabeth Debicki is sublime as Mistress and more than holds her own with these powerhouses of the stage and screen. (LL)

Until Jul 20, Sydney Theatre, Pier 4, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay, $50-105, (02) 9250 1777, sydneytheatre.com.au