Milly Alcock to Star in Strindberg's 'Julie' at London's Old Vic

Milly Alcock will play the title role in "Julie," Rebecca Frecknall's adaptation of August Strindberg's "Miss Julie," opening at London's Old Vic theatre on April 10 and running through May.

The production marks Alcock's first new project since "Supergirl" debuted earlier this year to mixed reviews and a disappointing box office. It also returns her to the London stage for the first time since a 2023 production of "The Crucible" at the National Theatre. Alcock previously starred in "House of the Dragon."

Frecknall, the Old Vic's associate director, adapts and directs. Strindberg wrote the original play in Swedish in 1888; it follows an aristocrat's daughter drawn to one of her family's married servants.

"Stumbling into the kitchen on the night of her 21st birthday party, Julie seeks out her father's employees John and Christine," reads the Old Vic logline. "As one room becomes a battlefield of class and sexual politics, a reckless flirtation becomes a merciless contest sending all three people hurtling towards destruction."

Internationaal Theater Amsterdam originally produced the modern adaptation.

What does this change for the Old Vic?

The announcement forms part of the theatre's new season — the first programmed under Rupert Goold, who took over as artistic director earlier this year. Alongside "Julie," the lineup includes:

• Shakespeare's "Henry V," starring Damian Lewis, opening in January
• An adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's "Assassins," about a group of misfits attempting to assassinate the U.S. President, directed by Goold in June

"I am thrilled to be presenting my first season with a collection of plays that speaks to the Old Vic's rich history of classical theatre, European repertoire and musical revivals," Goold said. "I hope my Old Vic will be able to draw on this theatre's storied legacy of sensational acting in groundbreaking and accessible productions."

Goold's statement promises accessibility and a classical core. The season's shape — one Shakespeare history, one Strindberg adaptation, one Sondheim musical — bears that out on paper. Whether the acting lives up to that "sensational" standard is a claim only the productions themselves can test.

A stage pivot after a rocky film year

The timing carries its own weight. "Supergirl" underperformed commercially, and the broader DC structure is in flux. On Monday, DC Studios CEOs and chairmen James Gunn and Peter Safran announced they would step down following Skydance's acquisition of DC parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. Marvel veteran Jeremy Latcham is set to replace them.

Against that backdrop, Alcock's move to a three-hander about class and sexual politics in a single kitchen reads as a deliberate change of scale. The Old Vic stage, not a franchise soundstage, will be where her next act plays out — and where audiences can judge her away from the machinery of a blockbuster.