ABSTRACT
The world premiere of Miss Julie was planned for March 1889 at the Dagmar Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, as part of the inaugural programme of the Scandinavian Experimental Theatre founded by Strindberg and his wife Siri von Essen (see Chapter 3). But on the day of the dress rehearsal the play was banned from public performance – on the grounds of indecency – by the Danish Ministry of Justice, and it was not to be seen on the professional stages of Scandinavia until 1906. Instead, the world premiere took place at a private performance in a shabby hall of the Student Union of the University of Copenhagen on 14 March 1889, followed by a second performance the next day, completing the short history of the Scandinavian Experimental Theatre. Since the company had no stage director, Siri as artistic director and Strindberg as the playwright were responsible for the staging. Some 150, overwhelmingly male, audience members were crowded in the small room, and in spite of the makeshift stage, reviews described the set as surprisingly faithful to the stage directions, with real kitchen utensils and a large stove. The ballet sequence was cut, and only a tune played on a flute could be heard as Jean and Julie briefly retired from the kitchen. Siri, who had been absent from the stage since the early 1880s, created an ‘all too cold’ Miss Julie to appear seductive. Viggo Schiwe’s Jean was criticised as too ‘gentlemanlike’ to be convincing as a servant. Only Henriette Pio was praised as a perfect Christine. In spite of the poor resources and a weak cast, critics were taken by the powerful dramatic effect of the piece (Ollén 1961: 135–36).
