May Jane Eyre err with the air?

First, a new outbreak of Eyre's wordplay. It's a virus that affects practically all journalists trying to review something related to Jane Eyre. From St. Cloud Times, reviewing the Guthrie's performances of Alan Stanford's Jane Eyre:

PHOTO CREDIT: Photo courtesy of the Guthrie Theater
Stacia Rice (Jane Eyre) and Sean Haberle (Edward Rochester)

'Eyre' doesn't err on style
In the hands of lesser forces, Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre" could have been like an old war horse being given its final fling before being sent to the knackers yard.
But with the combined talents of director John Miller-Stephany and Alan Stanford, who adapted it for the stage, Brontë's celebrated novel is an exercise in fluidity of style, its darkly pendulous tones giving way to moments of hope, with indomitable spirit and patient endurance.
The gloomy opening tends to set the tone, but Stephany along with set designer Patrick Clark skillfully give us moments of light and shade that penetrate the overarching somberness of the proceedings.
Old vs. young The story is told on two levels. Margaret Daly as the older Eyre narrates and gives us an anchor from which to observe the canvas unfolding before us in epic style. Daly is a solid presence with her powerful narration and interacts beautifully with Eyre the younger (Stacia Rice) who gives a luminous portrayal of Brontë's heroine.
The younger Eyre is strong and determined. She is brought up in a church orphanage where the emphasis is on strict discipline and harsh punishment, metered out by a cane. Jane is not easily beset as she battles her way through a society in which women weren't independent and in the middle classes lived in hopes of finding a husband for their future security.
Eyre escapes the oppressing orphanage by applying for the post of governess on the Rochester estate. She is hired by the kindly Mrs. Fairfax (Barbara Bryrne).
Her appointment is not without concern. These become heightened when strange sounds are heard in the night. On returning from his travels, she comes face to face with Edward Rochester (Sean Haberle), a dark, brooding man whom she realizes is deeply tormented by something in his past. They become attracted to each other and fall in love.
Strong performances Haberle and Rice are perfectly cast in their roles. His character is fully realized by strength and fear, which he tries to cover with his blustering manner. Rice brings strength to Eyre, too, and adds a deftness that is light and compelling.
The entire cast succeeds in transporting its audience into the period of the play, and at the same time, provides a deepness to its characters as they rise to the occasion.
What could have been conceived as an evening of gloomy 19th-century melodrama, Stephany and his vibrant cast present us instead with flesh and bone characters that give us a wonderful piece of stunning theater. (Christopher Trussel)

These performances are also commented on Things I have seen/heard/read and on GalleryStorage.

We have another case of inserting-a-Wuthering-Heights-mention-is-very-cool. The Hollywood Reporter talks about the upcoming American release of El Orfanato (The Orphanage in the US) by J.A. Bayona and produced by Guillermo del Toro:

With echoes not only of "The Sixth Sense," "The Others" and "The Shining" but also diverse films like the troubled-mother pic "Not Without My Daughter" and gothic classics like "Wuthering Heights," "Orphanage" differs in a number of ways from "Labyrinth." But with its conceit of a child who may or may not be seeing what's invisible to everyone else -- and its larger themes of lost innocence and unredressed regret -- it owes a heavy spiritual debt to that movie. (Steven Zeitchik)

BrontëBlog has seen the film and besides an isolated house, we cannot think of any other similarity with Emily Brontë's novel.

The Guardian's book blog has a post by Sam Jordison with an intriguing title: A lifetime with Jane Eyre? I'll take the attic, thanks.

Character is a vital aspect of criticism. Most effective literature is an emotional as much as an intellectual experience after all. It's the actors in the drama that generally form the focus for this emotion. What's more, our relationship with literary characters inevitably changes the texture of books and the way we view crucial scenes. (...)
And, in case all that emotionalism is troubling all those who like to apply more rigorous aesthetic judgements to their appreciation of art, just consider the skill and human empathy needed to create a successful character. Anyone can write a bore. The magic lies in conjuring - with words alone - someone we can love.
However, that's not to say that the individuals in books that we don't warm to are necessarily artistic failures. Just as often, they are salutary reminders of just how subjective the appreciation of literature really is.
I'm also pretty certain that the prospect of a lifetime with Jane Eyre would have me eyeing up the attic as a very pleasant place to go insane in[.]

Needless to say on a blog like ours, we rather disagree :). We notice the unusal choice of illustration on the post: Jane Eyre 1963 with Ann Bell and Richard Leech.

In other news. The Times briefly reviews again the paperback edition of Diane Setterfield's The Thirtieenth Tale (check our own review):

If this had been a Stella Gibbons-like spoof, it would have been a lot more enjoyable. As it is, it comes across merely as a poor imitation of its great 19th-century. precursors. (Christina Koning)

The Fondrem Theatre Workshop performs Charles Ludlum's The Mystery of Irma Vep. The dates: October 25-28 and November 1-3 in Meadowbrook Mart in Jackson, Mississippi.

Categories: Books, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, References, Theatre