Seeing “Mies Julie”

Last Thursday I went to see Mies Julie at ArtsEmerson. I’ve spent the weekend trying to collect my thoughts and process what I saw in this amazing piece of theatre.  I keep trying to find words to describe what I saw on Thursday for this blog, nothing that I come up with seems to be enough to express what my experience in seeing this show was like.

I can’t find the words I want that I feel do this artistically amazing piece of theatre justice. That accurately depict the artistic quality of the piece that tell how well done every aspect of design was. That give enough credit to the actor and the story the playwright is telling, but I don’t feel that I can.  Mies Julie is an amazing piece of theatre that everyone should see, that is heart wrenching and moving.

What stuck out for me the most was the atmosphere that the production team was able to create with the design and what it felt like to be in that room throughout the performance.  There were moments when it was overwhelming, where I didn’t know what to do or how to feel. The design fully supported the story and elevated the show as a whole.

The aspect of design that most affected me was the sound design. The sound design played a very powerful role in the play. As combination between recorded music and live music by an actor, composers/performers the sound design is ever present changing, intensifying and supporting the action onstage.  This makes the sound an integral part of the show, manipulating the audiences emotions and perceptions with every small shift of in level.   There are moments in the piece where the subwoofers got so loud you could feel it in your body. The sound became this overbearing force on the audience, altering and subtly changing audiences’ feelings in the moment. This makes the sound a powerful part of telling the moving story and this amazing show.

This show is an amazing example of what can happen when all aspects of show from design to acting, writing, and storytelling come together through hard work and dedication to support each other and create a show.