The Enchantment

One sunny day in Paris, Gustave Alland, famous artist and philanderer, visits Louise Strandberg - convalescing in her brother's studio - and casts her effortlessly under his spell. In a vain attempt to escape, she exiles herself to her provincial hometown in Sweden. But a letter propels her back to Paris and into his arms. And for a brief moment, ecstasy is hers. Victoria Benedictsson, groundbreaking Swedish novelist and playwright, was the inspiration for Strindberg's Miss Julie. She had a scandalous affair which led to her suicide, soon after completing the play, in 1888. The Enchantment, in this version by Clare Bayley, received its British premiere in 2007 at the National Theatre, London.