The Maids

One must wonder how Jean Genet would feel about The Chocolate Factory's production of his popular absurdist tragedy The Maids. The play, after all, is a fantasia on fantasy: two maids role-play as each other and their mistress, imagining impossible escapes from their low stations and lives. This production, which features some truly intense acting, is far too raw and gritty to be fantastical, but works in its own way.

In this play, no one is who, or what, they really seem: the maids have minds high above their lowly station, and their mistress is a parody of a devoted wife. To further heighten the theme of illusion, productions of The Maids often follow Genet's original concept of having all three female roles played by men. This production follows this suit in part, but the illusion is created only through the power of performance. As sisters Claire and Solange, Nate Rubin and Ax Norman wear no wigs or padding to give the illusion of femininity. With their natural, close-cropped hair, five-o'clock shadow, and male figures, the actors rely upon voice and body language to make us see the young women they play.

The trick only half works. Rubin and Norman do some remarkable work as the haunted and angry but ultimately loving titular sisters. Their performances are wonderfully entwined, building on energy and emotion until their characters are completely intermingled. It is truly wonderful to see how well these actors play off of each other, and how thoroughly they inhabit their characters. Unfortunately, while the performances work, Genet's concept of layering illusion upon illusion is not helped by the lack of visual pretense. Half of the illusion is stripped away for us already, which takes away of our enjoyment of being able to unravel reality from fantasy. The fact that their mistress, known only as Madame, is played by a young woman (Elizabeth Pitman) only adds to the bizarre mix of real and surreal, with no real reason made apparent for such a blend. We are never sure as to who is playing whom, in every sense of that word. Sometimes, the confusion pays off in a powerful revelation, but just as often, it fizzles.

Michele Chivu's direction supports the dreamlike atmosphere, keeping as much of the fantasy as can be afforded by Adrian W. Jones' sparse but effective set and Thomas Dunn's simple and elegant lighting design. Performed in a single cavernous room, with the audience facing each other along two opposite walls, Genet's dream-like words echo and fall over each other like a waterfall. It creates a lovely effect, but the best theatre does not rely on effects alone.

The Maids is at the Chocolate Factory Theater in Queens. Call (718) 482-7069 for tickets, or visit www.chocolatefactorytheater.org.