Genet’s ‘the maids’ gets a shockingly modern makeover – starring bridgerton’s yerin ha
Jean Genet’s darkly obsessive play, ‘The Maids,’ has consistently captivated theatre audiences for decades, drawing iconic performances from Cate Blanchett, Isabelle Huppert, and Elizabeth Debicki. Now, Kip Williams’s audacious, hyper-stylized adaptation is set to ignite Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s Warehouse, propelled by a star-studded cast led by Yerin Ha – a woman rapidly ascending the ranks of international stardom.
A heiress, influencers, and a murder fantasy
Williams’s reimagining casts Madame, the opulent mistress at the center of the drama, as a newly minted heiress turned influencer, a deliberate and unsettling caricature of undeserved privilege. Claire and Solange, the downtrodden housemaids and sisters, remain integral to the narrative, functioning as both household staff and, crucially, Madame’s sole conduits to the outside world. But the director has shrewdly placed the viewer in a particularly uncomfortable position – a silent voyeur, complicit in the escalating horrors unfolding within the opulent bedroom suite.
“He really made his audience the silent voyeurs,” explains director Kip Williams, “drawing open those sheers to let us in on the tragedy.”
Ha’s rise and a new lens on genet
Ha, who previously captivated audiences as Sophie Baek in Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton’ fourth season, brings a palpable intensity to the role of Madame. Her recent whirlwind of accolades – including a 2026 Ambassador of the Actor Awards nomination – speaks volumes about her burgeoning career. “Coming back into the rehearsal room, I felt like I was ready, but also hoping to expand and dive deeper into what we had already explored,” Ha reveals, noting a significant shift in her understanding of the character since her initial involvement in 2019’s ‘Lord of the Flies’ in Sydney. “It’s been quite an evolution of me as a person, as an artist, and with him as well.”
The adaptation bristles with pointed references to follower counts, designer labels, and the relentless pursuit of magazine covers – all potent symbols of wealth and status, meticulously curated by Williams. “I read it in a coffee shop the day he sent it,” recalls Stephanie Wilson, who embodies Claire, “I was just laughing out loud like, Oh, my God, the audacity to turn it this modern and to give it such a spin.”
“Diving deeper into those themes and how that resonates with me today, versus how it resonated with me a year ago—that has shifted as well,” Ha adds, highlighting the play’s unflinching exploration of materialism and the obsession with youth and beauty. “It is a very modern take.”
A chorus of discord
Saban, known for her role as Halaena Targaryen in ‘House of the Dragon,’ and Wilson contribute equally unsettling performances, navigating a landscape of simmering resentment and shocking brutality. “If you’re lucky enough to do something that has enough attention to qualify for press, there’s this strange dissonance between presenting the appealing side of yourself, but then hopefully, in your work, getting to explore being horrific,” Saban observes. “Kip colors every single word. Everything has a meaning and intention behind it.”
The play’s audaciousness – and its refusal to sanitize the grotesque – feels undeniably contemporary. The Maids runs at St. Ann’s Warehouse from May 17 through June 14, 2026.