Jane Eyre in Glasgow

A new production of Polly Teale's adaptation of Jane Eyre has been on stage these last weeks (from 21 November to 3 December) in Glasgow. The Strathclyde Theatre Group performed the play at the Ramshorn Theatre in Glasgow. The details are the following:

Cast
Jane Eyre - Sarah O'Toole,
Bertha - Frankie MacEachen,
Rochester/John Reid -
John Fraser, Brocklehurst/Pilot/St. John Rivers - Robert Radcliffe,
Mrs Reed/Mrs Halifax - Gillian De Groote,
Bessie/Blanche Ingram/Grace Poole,
Diana Rivers - Catronia Grozier,
Richard Mason/Teacher - Paul Grüber,
Abigail/Helen Burns/Adèle/Mary Rivers - Sharon Young,
Lord Ingram/Footman - Vincent McGread
Crew
Director & Designer - Bruce Downie
Associate Director - Susan C Triesman.
Lighting Designer - Ursula McCue.
Sound Designer - Bruce Downie and Frankie MacEachen.
Costumes - Susan C Triesman and Agnieszka Kalatosiewicz.

An inspired adaptation of the novel, which unlocks and reveals the inner life and passionate nature of Jane Eyre. For a Victorian woman to express her desires or ambitions was to risk severe punishment. Jane is forced to keep her fiery spirit locked away, but must be true to herself if she is to survive. In this highly physical adaptation, the mad woman in the attic becomes the embodiment of all the passion, danger and excitement that Jane longs to experience but fears to express.

The Edinburgh Guide publishes a review of the play:

Polly Teale's adaptation brings out the battle between Jane Eyre, the prim, innocent governess orphan, and the raw emotions that surge and sometimes break through in all of us. A battle you feel convinced Charlotte Brontë, novelist and creator of this intense physiological and feminist story, fought within herself. (...)

Strathclyde Theatre Group don't have the physical acting background of Shared Experience so that the all important fire is more irritating than evocative - feathers, lighting, sound and the actors playing flames and saying fire is overkill and draws unwanted laughter. The portrayal of the mad woman most of all needs very meticulous direction and places extreme demands on the actor who barely speaks a word. Frankie MacEachen's Bertha stamps and rolls but lacks enough telling directorial detail. When there is such detail, as when Jane is reconciled with Rochester and the three are caught in an embrace, it works. The production playing style needed is that tricky form - melodrama. It's a tough challenge for any actor, they try well and several do succeed.
(Thelma Good- Reviewer)

Categories: Theatre, Charlotte_Brontë, Jane_Eyre