No woman is a heroine to her maid, not in ”The Maids,” Jean Genet`s black comedy. The title characters are vengeful sisters who go beyond pretending to be their employer: They scheme to kill her.
Based on the notorious case of the Papin sisters (Quebequois servants who murdered their employer), ”The Maids” presents Genet`s sadomasochistic view of his twisted sisters.
Ironically, it`s much less violent than the real story.
Genet depicts petulant Claire and bitter Solange as vaguely incestuous and transparently self-hating. In a nightly ritual of abasement they switch off playing Madame; the ”ceremony” allows each to dress in Madame`s best finery, paint her cheeks and revile the other as less than dirt.
About to be exposed for trying to frame their mistress` lover, the women decide to poison Madame`s tea. For them it`s just one more ritual.
Ironically, the real Madame is not the hateful harridan they conjure up;
considerate and generous, she`s more a mother figure than wealthy tyrant.
The sisters are more cruel to each other than Madame is to them.
Genet`s sardonic point is that the maids need Madame. Hating her (”Her joy feeds on our shame”) gives them purpose; they can`t lose her. As it turns out, a different sacrifice is required.
Genet intended the roles to be taken by men, a wish that was ignored in the original 1947 production. It has been respected since in a recent Centre East production by Cesar`s Forum and now in this flamboyant revival by the Heartland Players.
A combination drag show and camp melodrama, Fred Anzevino`s staging features some incongruously muscular actors whose female impersonations seem all the more impressive; their grandiloquent gestures match Genet`s florid dialogue flourish for flourish.
Fortunately, the play escapes unharmed, gorgeous to hear and fascinating to watch.
`The Maids`
By Jean Genet; directed by Fred Anzevino; Heartland Players at 7000 N. Glenwood St.; at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays; through Dec. 27. Running time: 1.30. Tickets: $8. Phone 312-764-1227.
