THE MAIDS - REVIEW OF 2026 TALK IS FREE THEATRE PRODUCTION IN BARRIE

Reviewed by James Karas

The Maids by Jean Genet is an extraordinary play that combines intense drama and in its own way a critique of a social order where women are subjugated and mistreated as maids to a nasty and wealthy woman. The production by Talk is Free Theare in a small office in Barrie with about 15 people in the audience displays astounding acting accompanied by audience immersion.

The basic plot is simple even if one has never seen the play. Two sisters are the maids of a wealthy woman. They engage in role-playing with each pretending to be their employer, Madame, and plot to kill her.

Before the performance begins, people in the front row of a total of two are asked to participate in the performance. I was given a flower and later a black gown was placed on me. My wife was given a flashlight and later told to turn it on and aim it at one of the actors. She was also provided with a candle. Other people in the front row were employed similarly.

An actor walked into the playing area and advised us that Jean-Paul Sartre in an introduction to the play wrote that Genet hated women and he wanted the roles of the maids to be performed by men. In this production they are played by Billy Lake as Claire and Aidan deSalaiz as Solange. Madame is played by Shannon Taylor, the actor who introduced the play.

The play was loosely based on the murder of a woman and her adult daughter by their maids, two sisters, in France in 1933. The Maids was first produced in Paris in 1947 as Les Bonnes.

Shannon Taylor, Aidan deSalaiz and Billy Lake in The Maids

Two men walked on stage in Barrie and they are told to take their clothes off and dress as maids. They strip to their underwear and dress as traditional maids, black dress, white aprons. The performance of the play then begins. 

In the opening scene Solange plays Madame and Claire is the maid. Madame is imperious, demanding and obnoxious, Claire is subservient to the point of kissing her shoes and is forced to look at herself in the reflection of her shoes. Of course, we know that Madame is one of the maids who are acting out their roles as maids and their frustrations and emotional turmoils.

Claire as Madame orders Solange to put out her jewelry and she shines her shoes with her saliva. There are are dozens of expensive gowns and other items of clothing on the stage and some will be used by the maids and Madame as extravagant displays of wealth and contempt. Madame/Claire insults and belittles Solange with delicious cruelty. The wall between the maids acting as Madame and becoming Madame is shattered and we are not always sure if they are acting or being Madame. The playacting when Madame is out has a dark purpose. The maids are plotting to kill Madame but they never quite  get to it.  

There is another character in the play that is often mentioned but never seen. He is Monsieur, Madame’s lover. She is considered a widow and Monsieur was sent to prison based on forged letters sent to the police by the maids. Monsieur leaves a message on the phone that he is out on bail and wants to see Madame. The maids panic because the forgery may be discovered. They make a plot to poison Madame by serving her poisoned tea. That plot fails because Madame refuses to drink the tea as she rushes out to see her lover. Will Madame eventually drink the tea and, if not, what will happen? You may well ask.  

There is sexual tension throughout the play even between the sisters as they act out their roles or talk about Monsieur and his jumping into the house. The playacting becomes so intense that the sisters need to remind themselves that they are in fact pretending to be Madame. They say that they disgust each other and argue about how to get rid of Madame. There is psychological warfare as well as a murder plot and a desire to get out from a life of servitude.

The acting by the two men has an intensity that is unforgettable. Shannon Taylor does fine work as the beautiful and bitchy Madame.

The production in a small office is designed by Jake Friesen. A bed with high-class bedding and a dresser with mirror is all you need plus a large collection of fancy dresses on the side. Aaron Collier is the composer and Sound Designer and Bob Stamp is the Lighting Consultant.

Jillian Keiley does outstanding work in directing such a powerful, splendid production under almost impossible conditions. Which makes one wonder, why is Talk is Free Theatre not provided with better facilities in Barrie and in Toronto to stage its productions?  Their last production that I saw, Blackbird, was in a small room at the back of a church in Toronto. It was magnificent.
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The Maids by Jean Genet translated by Bernard Frechtman continues until October 3, 2026 at the Barrie by the Bay Commercial Complex, 80 Bradford Street, Barrie, Ontario. www.tift.ca

James Karas is the Culture editor of The Geek Press, Toronto