August Strindberg’s Miss Julie did not go down well in the UK when it was published.

All that sex and lust and greed was not agreeable to stiff-necked pen pushers who held out for 50 years before granting permission for the play, written in 1888, to be performed.

“It was only banned in Sweden until 1907,” explains Felicity Rhys, who co-founded UK Touring Theatre, which premiered a new production of the show last spring.

“What that says about Britain I don’t know.”

It says the idea that a servant could have it away with his upper class employer was an offence to late Victorian and Edwardian decency.

Also, adds Rhys, “The idea of sex without love was very shocking and that you could have a relationship between people of different classes was the height of bad taste.”

Last year marked the anniversary of Strindberg’s death. He died in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, where he was renowned as a prolific and progressive writer with innovative ideas for theatre.

As well as Miss Julie, he penned The Red Room in 1879, which is considered the first modern Swedish novel.

To mark the anniversary, and as part of the Swedish Strindberg 2012 centenary celebrations, UK Touring Theatre made a new translation and production of his most enduring work.

“Strindberg is the most famous playwright to come out of Sweden,” explains Rhys, speaking to The Guide before the production arrives in Worthing.

“I studied Miss Julie at school and it has remained one of my favourites because it is such a fantastic play.

“I’ve had a burning desire to do it since then – I even did one of Miss Julie’s speeches when I applied to drama school.”

Miss Julie is the count’s daughter and a curious aristocrat who can’t keep her eyes off her father’s valet, Jean. A harmless flirtation descends into a ruthless power struggle and tragedy follows.

“It’s a great story and a battle of the classes and a battle of the sexes, with an interesting portrayal of the relationship between men and women as their relationship becomes a love triangle.”

Rhys worked on a new translation from Swedish with a Swedish language advisor and the company – Adam Redmayne (who plays Jean), Laura-Kate Gordon (Kristin) plus director Denis Noonan – have put together a production with aims to “keep close to the original” and present “Strindberg’s original vision”.

They did a literal translation of the original text, which became the first draft, then improvised to develop lines and “mould the English language to suit the play”.

“It is a period drama set on Midsummer’s Eve in 1888 – the translation reflects the values of the time and so do the set and costumes,” explains Redmayne, before outlining the importance of the play for introducing naturalism to theatre in the Scandinavian country.

The naturalistic movement aimed to recreate real life using everyday dialogue and broken thoughts rather than poetry. It removed gods and ghouls and added real props in place of painted backdrops and Victorian melodrama.

Focus on the lower classes

Gone were themes and ideas from otherworldly and fantastical locations the writers could not know first-hand. Characters from lower classes became central.

This is why Miss Julie is a key text for A-level students. The Father (1887) and Creditors (1899) are other essential Strindberg plays using the technique which built on Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s work and answered Frenchman Émile Zola’s manifesto Naturalism In The Theatre.

“When Strindberg was writing it was a fascinating time,” continues Redmayne.

“You have women’s rights coming to the fore, Marxism and workers’ rights also coming to the fore. And in art and music, it is the beginning of modernism; Strindberg wanted to bring an element of realism into theatre.”

Jean is a character who embodies this change.

“He is someone who wants to better himself. For that time he has a good job as the count’s valet, but because he wants to improve his situation he sees an opportunity and he takes it.”

  • Miss Julie is at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing, on Thursday, October 17 and Friday, October 18. Starts 7.30pm, Friday matinee at 2pm, tickets £14.50. Call 01903 206206