17 - 26 Nov 2023

 

Off Main Stage in association with Umbilicus Productions premieres 

Lady J

a new translation and adaptation of Strindberg’s iconic Masterpiece, Miss Julie

by Dr Lewis Webb and Christina James. 

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It’s Burns Night at an elite Scottish university. Lady J, daughter of the provost and fellow at St Duncan’s College, ducks out of the formal dinner to join the raucous rituals of the domestic staff. A risqué game between her and Jock, her father’s butler, reveals a deep chasm at the heart of Lady J’s inner world, and cracks in Jock’s narcissistic armour, as his hard-working fiancé, Kirsten the housekeeper, sleeps on.

 

As the night progresses, the intoxicating mix of Ceilidh, single malt, poetry recitals and forbidden fruit provide the perfect conditions for the sins of the fathers (and mothers) to manifest in Strindberg’s timeless characters; culminating in a toxic union that threatens to undo the tightly held reputations and traditions embedded in the seven-hundred-year-old walls of St Dunc’s.  

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This translation from the Swedish by Classics Academic Lewis Webb of Merton College Oxford, with contemporary adaptation by director Christina James, provides a unique glimpse into the world’s most elite universities. The Oxford, RADA and Rose Bruford trained cast and directorial team serve up a Burns Night feast of institutional politics and classical tragedy with a contemporary edge, revealing the unconscious dynamics of sex and class to be as fundamental today as in the world of Strindberg’s masterpiece. 

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Content warnings: mental health issues, inter generational trauma, suicide,

emotional manipulation, violence towards animals. Suitable for ages 15+

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CAST
Lady J – Marianne James
Jock – Joshua Urquhart
Kirsten – Anna Georgina 

 

CREATIVES
Adaptation - Christina James 
Translation - Lewis Webb
Director – Christina James 
Assistant Director – Reya Muller 

Producers - Anna Georgina & Marianne James

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Off Main Stage is an Off Fest Nominated Theatre Company 

 

Praise for past work:

‘Off Main Stage is a company to watch out for’ – The Reviews Hub London, 2023

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This is ultimately a character driven drama’ – Dress Circle Reviews, 2022  

★★★★★

‘The Chemistry between everyone on stage is flawless’ – Reviews Hub London, 2021 

★★★★★

Show Times

Tues to Sat at 7.30pm 

Sun at 4pm

Extra Matinee Sat 25 Nov at 3pm
Running time approx.95 mins with NO interval

Tickets £16 / £12 Concessions*

Allocated seating. S\trictly No Latecomers Admitted.
*(Students I Unwaged I Over 60’s I Equity I MU I Disabled I 

Lambeth Residents I NHS I Armed Forces )

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Content warnings: mental health issues, inter generational trauma, suicide, emotional manipulation, violence towards animals. Suitable for ages 15+

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