The "Mies Julie" Stars, Hilda Cronje and Bongile Mantsai "Mies Julie," the blistering adaptation of Strindberg's "Miss Julie" at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn through Dec. 16, has won stellar reviews for its lead actors, Hilda Cronje and Bongile Mantsai. Hilda Cronje and Bongile Mantsai, the stars of "Mies Julie," Yael Farber's adaptation of Strindberg's "Miss Julie." Written and directed by Yael Farber, this version is set on a lonely South African estate 18 years after the election of Nelson Mandela. Julie (Ms. Cronje) is the daughter of the white farm master; John (Mr. Mantsai) is a black laborer there, and what happens between them on Freedom Day changes their lives. "There is more erotic heat generated by the play's two central characters," Ben Brantley wrote in The New York Times, "than in any production in town." Ms. Cronje, 28, grew up on her family's farm in Natal and has worked in television, commercials, film and theater in South Africa. Mr. Mantsai, 31, is an actor, dancer and musical director who grew up in the South African township of Khayamandi. "Mies Julie" had its premiere at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa, this year and is Ms. Cronje and Mr. Mantsai's first production in this country. They were interviewed together at St. Ann's in Brooklyn after a recent Sunday matinee, and in a phone conversation. This is an edited and condensed version of the interviews. Q. Did you two immediately feel chemistry when you met at the audition in Cape Town? BONGILE MANTSAI When she walked in, I felt the energy. I felt like, wow. Yael had us rehearse a scene where I have to kiss her foot, and she took me aside and told me to challenge her. It was clear she was not afraid to cross boundaries. HILDA CRONJE At the end of the audition, I felt I had sort of had sex with a stranger. I was thinking, "What just happened to me?" It was this electric thing between the two of us. Q. How did you then get to know each other? CRONJE We started a dialogue between the two of us without knowing how far we would have to go. He said to me after our first rehearsal he respected me as a woman and an actress. I wondered why he would say that because I thought I was doing really well. I come from a farm, I come from South Africa, I had never worked in a play with a black actor, so for me to cross those lines was a challenge. He'd obviously picked up on something that I was not even aware of. I came to him the next day and said: "I've checked it. I'm open. I know to make this work - I'm giving you my soul. MANTSAI I tried to build a connection because of the challenges in the material. It was so clever how Yael did it, because we didn't have much time to think about it. We knew there was a sex scene, but during the last week of rehearsals she started asking people to give us space to try it. It was close to the opening of the show before we got to it, and we didn't have much time to worry about it. Q. Do either of you have a partner or spouse, and what do they think of all that sex and violence onstage? CRONJE I have a fiancé. The first thing he did was introduce himself to Bongile. He didn't even look at me; it was just "Hi, I'm Hilda's fiancé." Then he came back to me and said, "He's not really that big, you know." I went, "Whatever." But yeah, it's tough. You're going on a tour with this play, and it's a process of getting to know yourself more and more. MANTSAI I do have someone in my life. She likes the work, she respects what I'm doing, but she has cried every time she sees the play. During the sex scenes she covered her head. My father is a pastor, and this process for me has been challenging because I have crossed a lot of boundaries. In the scene where I throw my mother's Bible on the floor, I was thinking of my mother and how she would feel. Q. Bongile, as someone whose background is mostly in musical theater, how did your prepare for this role, which is a departure for you. MANTSAI I have always played a couple of roles: I'd be a charming man; I'd be a good guy, a beautiful person. This kind of challenged me. I went to the rural part of the Cape just to look at life on the other side because I'm from the township. I saw a lot of pain. There is something about the farm boys; they know what is happening around the life of the farm, like John. He's intelligent, he's clever. He is having the influences from the outside world. He hears the buzz. He is between two worlds. Q. How did apartheid affect your career as a black person?