Mainly bad reviews

Some well-known BrontëBlog news get a new chance today on the internet.

The York Theatre Royal's performances of Wuthering Heights are reviewed (or something similar) in The Stage. The review contrasts with the enthusiasm of this previous one:

How dare anyone put on such a poor Wuthering Heights - and in Yorkshire.
Heathcliff is dreadful and Cathy is not far behind. Joel Fry, who plays Heathcliff, cannot be heard. He has no presence and gives little indication of caring for Cathy. He has the attitude of a sullen fourth former who has been forced to take part in the school play and would much rather be alone with his Play Station.
Cathy is played as a tomboy, by a whiny voiced Jessica Harris. She is a silly girl and not a wild and wanton young woman. No sign of passion from either of them.
With the exception of Kate Ambler the others in the cast are woefully inadequate. Each has two or more characters to play and the characters must age. That should not present a problem but apparently it does.
Judging by the cast's careless movement Sue Dunderdale, the director, has given little thought to shape, position and physical language.
Jane Thornton's spare and fluid adaptation, used so well by Hull Truck Theatre, covers the two generations in the story with clarity and understanding but in this production the final section is muddled and confusing.
Thornton does include some singing of Emily Bronte's poems. An inspired idea but here they are poorly presented.
Imagine a West Riding woollen mill's interior without machinery and you have the set. It should excite and inspire but it has no effect on this cast and this director. (Kevin Berry)

EDIT: Luke has replied to this review on this comment.

LipService's Withering Looks are the subject of this article in the Yorkshire Evening Post:

AWARD-WINNING theatre company LipService make a long awaited return to Wakefield Theatre Royal on Saturday June 23 with their cult literary spoof Withering Looks.

The show takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the lives and works of the Bronte sisters.
It features many of the well-known characters from all the famous novels alongside some completely new ones that LipService have made up.(...)
To book tickets for Withering Looks call the box office on 01924 211311 or book online at www.wakefieldtheatres.co.uk. (Stuart Robinson)

The New York Observer clearly dislikes the Puppini Sisters's cover of Wuthering Heights.

Kate Bush’s ghastly “Wuthering Heights” (...)[is] derailed by a silly surfeit of shtick, gimmicks and low camp. (Rex Reed)

More music, do you remember Los Campesinos! song with the Jane Eyre reference? Pitchfork posts about it:

On the flip, "Don't Tell Me to Do the Math(s)" reverses the band's usual M.O., bringing the dance floor to the bookstore rather than vice versa. Dewey decimals and Jane Eyre disses get a lift from a potent guitar hook, violins, and still more glockenspiel. (Marc Hogan)

The blogosphere is also full of Brontë references. This class is reading Wuthering Heights and publishes some of the discussions online. Plasticsturgeon reviews Cara Lockwood's Wuthering High. Author Jeanne-Marie Leach is interviewed on PASTimes:

What is the greatest historical novel you’ve ever read and why?
From the classics: Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff is the all-time greatest villain because of the depth of his plot for revenge. He is the ultimate bad boy. I do not believe that every villain must have redeeming qualities. As in Wuthering Heights, there are real-life villains who have nothing good inside them. Everyone loves to hate Heathcliff.

Other stories reviews Dame Darcy's illustrated edition of Jane Eyre:

The illustrator, an American comic book artist by the name of Dame Darcy, calls herself - randomly - a "neo-Victorian", and obviously loves the novel. But... she seems to miss the point SO MANY TIMES with her illustrations that I found myself questioning both her ability to remember what she's drawn before (Pilot the dog changes colour from one drawing to the next), and to actually restrain her imagination and draw what it says in the book. For example, as I said before, why put Jane on the front cover in front of a burning mansion when Jane doesn't see the Thornfield fire at all but only finds out about it months later? Why do that? It's such an elementary error that I don't know who to blame more... DD for drawing it, or the publishers for not picking her up on it.

I like the idea of illustrated editions of books, and Jane Eyre is ripe with possibility for such a product. Even doing a gothic-y one is not a bad idea in itself because there is so much in the novel that does fall under the literary definition of The Gothic, but please, GET IT RIGHT. This edition could have been amazing, but instead, it was just irritating. And what is with the photo of the illustrator on the back cover? Such pretentiousness.

Categories: Brontëites, Comics, Music, Humour, Jane_Eyre, Theatre, Wuthering Heights