Polly Teale's Jane Eyre in South Carolina

Today, September 29, is the opening night for a new production of Polly Teale's Jane Eyre by the Clemson Players in the Bellamy Theatre at the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts of the University of Clemson, South Carolina:

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The Clemson Players, the university drama company, will present a bold and imaginative staging of Charlotte Bronte’s "Jane Eyre."
"Jane Eyre" is Charlotte Bronte’s classic coming-of-age story of one of literature’s most independent and strong-willed women. Recognized as a masterpiece when it was published in 1847, "Jane Eyre" remains a startlingly blend of passion, romance, and suspense. (...)
“Charlotte Bronte’s Victorian heroine is given a very contemporary spirit in Polly Teale’s brilliant, innovative, and challenging adaptation,” said Mark Charney, the director of the production. “Audiences should expect to see the classic story reinterpreted in a truly feminist fashion, especially considering Teale’s strong interest in the internal conflict of the central character.”

The Tiger, the college's newspaper, gives some more information:

This fall the Clemson Players are putting on "Jane Eyre" as the first show of the 2007- 2008 performance season, and it promises to be an excellent production. The story of Jane Eyre is a marvelous melodrama: Jane, a poor orphan who has led a lonely life and never known love, becomes a governess at Thornfield, the estate of Edward Rochester, a somewhat dark man. Jane is drawn to him, but unbeknownst to her, he has a mad wife sequestered in the attic.
Teale's adaptation of Jane Eyre, with the directing skills of Mark Charney, the skills of the technical crew, and the performance abilities of the actor, allow a better view into the mind of plain Jane Eyre and the secret desires that lie within. They bring alive the Victorian aspects of the story through a set that mimics the gothic, foreboding Victorian house with its twisting stairs and dramatic moments that only enhance the romance and excitement.
This adaptation of "Jane Eyre" gives audiences a way to watch the story they have only been able before to imagine in their minds. Polly Teale's adaptation has pruned the novel to its essence - starting from scenes from her life as a ward of the harsh Mrs. Reed and as a student then a teacher at the school, next to the death of her best friend, and then into a long succession of moments at Thornfield and the exchanges between herself and the intriguing Mr. Rochester.
All the while, Jane's alter ego, the spirit of wildness, independence and lust that she struggles to control continues to keep watch on high. The play goes above and beyond Charlotte Brontë's original story while at the same time keeping true to its original aspects. (Corinna Miller)

Jane Eyre opens Sept. 29 and runs until Oct. 5 in the Bellamy Theatre at the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students.

Categories: Jane Eyre, Theatre