Full Breakdown
Kip Williams’ Video-Heavy Revival of Jean Genet’s *The Maids* at St. Ann’s Warehouse
5/27/2026, 11:10:55 PM
Core Production
Kip Williams directs a new staging of Jean Genet’s 1947 play *The Maids* at St. Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn. The three-person cast—Yerin Ha (Madame), Phia Saban (Solange), Lydia Wilson (Claire)—opens early June and runs through June 14, 2026, with tickets $49–$149.
Background & Context
Genet wrote *The Maids* after the 1933 Papin sisters’ murder to examine class domination. He originally suggested casting adolescent boys in the maid roles to “eliminate nature” and to heighten the play’s distancing effect. Notable revivals appeared at Sydney Theatre Company (2014) and Donmar Warehouse (2015).
Key Figures & Creative Team
Set designer Rosanna Vize creates a reflective white-curtained box; costumes by Marg Horwell; lighting by Jon Clark; sound by Dan Balfour; music by DJ Walde; video by Zakk Hein.
Design & Statistics
The three actors use smartphones to livestream onto several upstage screens. Brand references include Balenciaga, Dior, Ozempic, and a “Jonathan for Dior” bag. The set’s white box has been described as evoking a bridal veil, a high-end flower shop, and a Glossier-style showroom. The show runs 1 h 45 min, no intermission.
Director’s Intent (Official Statements)
Williams calls cinetheatre “a theatrical form that expresses the multiform nature of identity, using live video to mirror self-performance on social media.” Production notes say the video “extends Genet’s obsession with doubling.”
Critical Reception (Criticism & Opposition)
Reviewers say the visual spectacle outweighs thematic depth, calling the TikTok filter use “superficial,” the class engagement “shallow,” and noting the omission of homoerotic undertones. Some label the adaptation an “assault on the senses.”
On-stage Observations (On-the-Ground Reports)
The sisters film each other with phones, projecting filtered faces. Live feeds show brand name-checks and a monologue listing “Eternity of wealth… foreign wars.” Madame’s entrance alternates vanity and paranoia.
Conflicting Views & Gaps (Conflicting Reports)
Critics differ on whether the production translates Genet’s power critique into digital commentary; some see Madame as a caricature, others as a modern analogue. No direct interview with Williams is provided.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Fittingly for a production that uses its back walls as both a live-feed and a mirror, we get the familiar served back to us—hey, aren’t we all servants to a need for likes now?” — Reviewer, Vulture
- “I’m game for a wink at internet culture—I really enjoyed a play recently where actors did emotes from The Sims—but at a certain point, you want Williams to stop winking and say something.” — Reviewer, Vulture
- “Eternity of wealth. Eternity of pleasure. Eternity of orgasm,” — Claire (character)
- “Class war is in the air, so there has never been a better time to revive The Maids, Jean Genet’s poisonously funny drama about two domestics who plot to off the boss.” — Reviewer, TheaterMania
Impact (Why It Matters)
The production links Genet’s class critique to contemporary social-media validation, adding to debates on technology’s role in modern theater. By juxtaposing live streaming with Genet’s ritualized power play, it comments on how digital platforms amplify existing class tensions.
What’s Next
*The Maids* runs at St. Ann’s Warehouse through June 14, 2026.
