Tours, walks and reviews

Daily Press reviews The Acting Company's performance of Polly Teale's Jane Eyre in Hampton.

In the novel, Jane falls in love with Rochester only to learn that he's already married to an insane woman named Bertha kept locked in the attic. Teale sees the deranged Bertha as a symbol of Jane's wild, imaginative side that she must keep hidden. Director David McCallum calls this adaptation a "statement of containment and release.
"In the novel, Jane Eyre struggles with her own frustration of living in the 1840s without any family or money," he says. "Jane has all of this rage as a young girl, but she learns that the only way to get on in Victorian society is to retreat within herself and lock away her fiery passion."
Adapting a long and complex novel to the stage requires a director to be selective, he says, and allows the audience to suspend reality.
"You have to have one strong angle on the story," he says. "The idea here is that the mad woman reflects the suppressed internal life of Jane Eyre herself.
"When people come to the theater, they know it will be more suggestive. We can't be literal with the story. The theater has a great asset in the audience's imagination."
The magic of the theater also enables McCallum's company of actors to play several different roles in the production, even some unusual ones.
"Everyone in the company has this real passion for the book," he says. "One actor plays Mr. Brocklehurst, the school headmaster, and minutes later returns to the stage as Rochester's horse." (David Nicholson)

A very tempting review of what is - judging by the London cast, which BrontëBlog saw last summer - a fabulous adapation. Click here to see The Acting Company's scheduled performances across the United States. If they happen to be near you any time - just don't miss them!

Another company on tour is LipService with their Withering Looks, as we reported a few days ago. Next Friday, February 9, they will be on stage at the Stamford Arts Centre, as Grantham Today reminds its readers.

Few shows merit the tag of unmissable but Maggie Fox and Sue Ryding's spoof on the life and works of the Bronte sisters most certainly does.
With stunningly simple sets and a superbly witty script they give an 'authentic' look at the sisters' lives on the wind-ravaged moors.
The show will begin at 8pm. Tickets at £11 (£9) are available from the box office (Tel: 01780 763203).

Because it's almost Valentine's Day, newspapers and websites feel the need to find a romantic side to practically everything. It's walks this time in The Westmorland Gazette.

5. Brontë Moors
What could be more romantic than the sweeping moorland that was the setting of the romances between Cathy and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights - and of Jane Eyre and Mr Rochester? Top Withens on Haworth Moor is popularly believed to be the setting for Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.
Wander along the moors with your lover and let the wild beauty work its magic!
www.bronte-country.com

The scenery is wonderful indeed but make sure your partner is up for it before you set off. The walking distance to Top Withens in this cold weather is not everyone's cup of tea, however romantic a newspaper finds it ;)

The Modern Age writes:

Tonight I went to a comedy “workshop” night called Tell All You Friends! at Lolita bar hosted by Liam McEneaney. The super-funny stars of the night were Todd Hanson, lead writer for The Onion, who did a dramatic interpretation of the introductions to the MTV movie tie-in printing of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. One word for you: Jugular.

Oh that unforgettable - in the worst sense of the word - adaptation.

And finally blogger Stephanie has recently discovered Anne's The Tenant of Wiildfell Hall, and liked it enough to give it a 4/5. Our favourite bit of her review is this:

I think Anne Bronte was very much ahead of her time.

Perfectly right and true.

Categories: Anne Brontë, Jane Eyre, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Theatre