Genet’s ‘the maids’ gets a shockingly modern makeover – starring bridgerton’s yerin ha
Yerin Ha, the breakout star of Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton,’ is taking on a chilling new role as Madame in Kip Williams’s audacious adaptation of Jean Genet’s ‘The Maids,’ opening May 17th at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn.
A twisted inheritance: from heiress to influencer
Williams’s production isn’t a straightforward revival; it’s a sharp, unsettling realignment of Genet’s classic tale. Madame, once a passive figure, is now a meticulously crafted heiress-turned-influencer – a grotesque caricature of unearned privilege, dripping with the performative excess of the digital age. The play’s core dynamic, the fraught relationships between the housemaids, Claire and Solange, and their manipulative mistress, remains intact, but sharply illuminated through a distinctly 21st-century lens.
Voyeurism and the price of attention
The director cleverly manipulates the audience, transforming us into silent observers, complicit in the maids’ escalating acts of cruelty. As the sheer curtains enveloping Madame’s opulent bedroom slowly part, revealing a space saturated with designer labels and the hollow promise of viral fame – ‘follower counts,’ ‘designer labels,’ ‘major magazine covers’ – the audience becomes trapped in a voyeuristic loop, fueling the tragic trajectory of the plot.
Ha’s transformation: beyond bridgerton
“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 explains. “It’s been quite an evolution of me as a person, as an artist, and with him as well.” Her recent turn as Sophie Baek in ‘Bridgerton’ undeniably catapulted her into the international spotlight, earning her the 2026 Ambassador of the Actor Awards – a stark contrast to the quiet intensity she brings to Madame.
A new lens on old themes
“I feel like the way I understand Madame now comes through a new lens,” Ha reveals. “It is a very modern take, examining materialism, this obsession with youth and beauty, and the role that it plays in our society.” Williams’s script is relentlessly provocative, embracing a lurid, absurdist sense of humor that spares no one. The play’s exploration of power dynamics and the corrosive effects of unchecked desire feels particularly resonant today – a chilling commentary on our own digital obsessions.
A collaborative vision
“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 continues. “It’s been quite an evolution of me as a person, as an artist, and with him as well. Now we’ve reached this place where we’re able to create something really fun without censoring anything.” Kip Williams’s uncompromising vision, coupled with Ha’s increasingly nuanced portrayal, promises a production that will linger long after the curtain falls.