On the eve of Greek Easter, the daughter of a wealthy restaurateur locks horns with a brooding sous-chef in this audacious reimagining of Strindberg’s Miss Julie, tearing the classic from its 19th-century roots and placing it in the pressure-cooker of modern fine dining. “
I wanted to explore what happens when power, desire and class collide behind the closed doors of a kitchen, where Mediterranean rituals meet Australian ambition and the rituals of hospitality mask something much more volatile,” says director Harry Haynes.
“Like many artists, I spent my early career working in restaurants; washing dishes, prepping vegetables, making cocktails. I’ve always felt the symmetry between theatre and hospitality. Something is crafted in a high-pressure environment to be consumed by the public each night, and once it’s over, it only exists in memory. Melbourne is often called Australia’s culinary capital, and I wanted this Miss Julie to speak to that world; to its intensity, its precision, its unrelenting pace and the emotional cost that can lie just beneath the surface.”
To bring an authenticity to this vision, Haynes will collaborate with MasterChef Alumni and celebrity chef Conor Curran to bring the world of the play to life through taste, aroma, and atmosphere, transforming fortyfivedownstairs into a working kitchen and offering audiences a truly unique immersive experience.
Miss Julie also marks the debut of Company 16, a new theatre company led by Iain Sinclair and Harry Haynes, which aims to set a new benchmark for repertory theatre by creating a platform where experienced artists mentor emerging talent, preserving and advancing traditional acting skills, and ensuring that essential practices are passed down to future generations.
Company 16’s 2025 season brings together two searing portraits of ambition, legacy, and human fragility. Following Miss Julie, Iain Sinclair will direct In John Logan’s Red, in which legendary painter Mark Rothko wrestles with the meaning of art, mortality, and mentorship in a world of shifting values. Each production embodies Company 16’s core: actor-driven, craft-focused theatre that unites emerging and established artists in rigorous collaboration.
July 31 – August 17