WOODFIN, N.C. (828newsNOW) — “Miss Julie” is a classic 19th century play written by the Swedish playwright August Strindberg. This September, the naturalistic tragedy will receive a brand-new adaptation at the Attic Salt Theatre Company.

The Attic Salt production of “Miss Julie” is directed and adapted by Jeff Catanese and will run at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays, Sept. 5-21, Attic Salt Theatre Arts Space, 2002 Riverside Dr.

Find tickets here.

Meet Jean and Miss Julie

“In this world-premiere adaptation of Strindberg’s classic drama, mistress of the house, Miss Julie, and her servant play a dangerous game of seduction in an effort to relieve themselves of their trapped existences. Using everything in their arsenals from sex to money, the two battle each other in a struggle for power and escape,” Attic Salt summarized in their synopsis of the show.

In their Attic Salt debuts, the fierce Miss Julie will be played by Lauren Otis, while her servant, Jean, will be played by Jon Robinson.

Though the play was written in 1888, the actors said that its themes are as prevalent today as they were then.

“The main themes deal with class and gender, and those relationships and how they interact with each other,” explained Otis. “It’s also about human relationships and how those roles, traditionally, in the late 1800s when it’s set, were very, very defined and there wasn’t much mingling between this class and this class.”

“It’s interesting to go through and explore it from the lens of 2025 and what the world should be and should look like,” Robinson said. “Seeing the parallels of gender inequality, class inequality, all of it is still here and we’re still dealing with it, all these centuries later.”

Miss Julie is a challenging, complex character to play, but viewing her story through the “lens of 2025,” Otis had a revelation about the role.

“After reading the script a few times and kind of starting to take her into my body and my brain a little bit, I think she probably has borderline personality disorder before that was like a diagnosed thing,” Otis mused. “Based on her impulsivity, the way that she has a hard time regulating her emotions and she can switch very quickly back and forth. Not manic in the way that it’s extreme highs and lows, but that it kind of is this roller coaster. And I mean, I’m not immune to having days and time periods where I struggle with those same things.”

For Robinson, working with Otis has inspired him to bring an equally dynamic range to Jean.

“Her Miss Julie is so well rounded and is such a real person, even just in the space, that it’s almost more difficult not to go on the ride with her than it is to try to stay in place,” Robinson said.

The two actors have performed together before, most recently as Richard III and Elizabeth in a production of “Richard III,” but “Miss Julie” is a much smaller show than the Shakespearean drama. For long stretches of the play, Otis and Robinson will be the only actors onstage, an intimacy which requires tremendous trust between two actors even without the emotional volatility of the characters in “Miss Julie.”

“I consider us very fortunate that Lauren and I have a history of doing intense roles across from each other, which has helped in some of the icebreaking kind of ways, I think, for this show,” Robinson said. “It’s been good that we’ve had that, to kind of have a little bit of a base level of understanding each other as people.”

According to the actor, the show is all about that very thing: people attempting to understand another point of view. Robinson hopes that the audience will leave with that message come September.

“If I could have the audience walk away with anything, it’s just thinking about the person next to you or the person across from you,” Robinson said. “There’s this beautiful section of the show, and I won’t spoil it too much, but it’s very much a kitchen table drama. Two people just existing, and learning about each other, and taking in what they knew, and what they thought they knew and then what this other perspective was. If we could have two or three people come out of this run and think about another person’s perspective, then I think we would have had a successful run.”

For more information about “Miss Julie” or to find tickets for the show, visit www.atticsalt.org.