"It's not Wuthering Heights"

Let's begin with the ever-present Twilight reviews, shall we? Note how reviews mention the Brontës' works but not always towards the same ends:

In moodily beautiful rain country, the romance builds along nearly clichéd lines, though often hewing close to the brooding genre tracks laid by classics like Rebecca or Jane Eyre. (D.J. Palladino in The Santa Barbara Independent)

But a vampire is still a vampire who wants to make dinner of a bucket of blood, so what's the attraction? Vampires have their roots in stories about the bad boys of literature -- think Heathcliff in "Wuthering Heights" or bad Byron, a lord but a romantic poet for all that, who mocked and defied prim and proper 19th century social conventions. But something else is going on here. Those bad boys weren't out for blood. (Suzanne Fields in Erie-Times News)

I know it is not fair to make comparisons among authors but there’s really not much that can be said about the Twilight book per se—it’s a straightforward love story with only one complication: He is a vampire, she is human. In fact, the first book in the series only offers one wrinkle in the plotline—a third vampire. And that’s it. It’s not Wuthering Heights nor is it The English Patient, of that I am very sure. (Bong Austero in the Manila Standard Today)

Why the mania? Edward is Romeo, Heathcliff, James Dean, and Brad Pitt all rolled into one: a scruffy-gorgeous bloodsucker pin-up who is really an angelic protector. A bad boy with a good heart. "The perfect boyfriend who just happens to live on blood." (Vanessa Richmond in The Tyee)

Today's teens, it turns out, are not so very different from the girls who swooned over Jane Eyre.
Edward Cullen may be undead, but romance is very much alive. (Allison Pearson in the Daily Mail)

And we think that's all from the Twilight front for today. Perhaps all these reviews might help to get more people to read the Brontës because as a tenth grade student writes in The Asbury Park Press,

However, I have realized that my thirst for literature is sometimes an anomaly. Many students in my school have never heard of "Jane Eyre" or "Pride and Prejudice." How is this possible? Students don't realize what they're missing because they have not been exposed enough to the classics in literature. While reading best sellers is wonderful, the classics improve one's mind in numerous ways. They are books that are read time and time again. (Kaitlin LeGrand)

And now for a few random Wuthering Heights tidbits:

The Guardian's Theatre Blog uses the news of the forthcoming Bollywood-style adaptation of Wuthering Heights by the Tamasha Theatre Company to wonder why 'nobody [is] relating the stories of modern British Asians'.

On hearing recent news that Tamasha, one of Britain's leading Asian theatre companies is producing a Bollywood-style adaptation of Wuthering Heights, I have to admit to a feeling of deja vu. Admittedly, I've never seen a Bollywood take on this novel but the idea still felt very familiar and a little tired.
Two thoughts ran immediately through my mind. First: "Not another western classic sprinkled with a little bit of garam masala?" The second thought struck me in the pit of my stomach: "Is this it? Are British Asian stories dead?"
In recent years, it seems as if the only way to get British Asian theatre companies into main-house theatres is by adapting an English classic (preferably Victorian) and to equate the intolerant and repressed Victorian family values with those of modern, British Asian families. Equally, take the oppressed Victorian female and equate her to a modern south-Asian female. And that's it. With a slight change in climate and a suitable town where ethnic minorities are common, you have your adaptation. No more thought seems necessary.
It appears that in order to comment on south-Asian culture in mainstream theatre today, we have to compare it to English culture of the 19th century. [...]
I sincerely hope that Tamasha's Wuthering Heights will be the huge success they anticipate. Actually, I'm sure it will be. I do not blame individual companies striving to get bums on seats; it's a hard job. I blame external forces that seem to dictate the terms. When it comes to British Asian theatre, this type of work is a safe bet. Anything else is seen as too risky. (Parv Bancil)

Knox County Village Soup reviews the recent release of Studio One's Wuthering Heights (included in an anthology).

A young Charlton Heston plays Heathcliff in an adaptation of “Wuthering Heights” that is more faithful to the 1939 film version that Emily Bronte’s novel. (Tom Von Malder)

And the Evening Star reviews The Grandees' Hen and Chickens (check this previous post) , whose script is

so desperately thin it has to be padded out with daft dances to Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights. . . (Bruce Dessau)

We have yet to see a dance to that song which can't be considered 'daft'.

Finally, Audition Alerts posts an alert for auditions for a Washington-based take on Jane Eyre. The Musical.

Auditions will be held by appointment only Dec. 7, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m., Dec. 8, 6:00 - 10:00 p.m., Dec. 9, 6:00 - 10:00 p.m. at Seattle Musical Theatre, Building #47, Magnuson Park (North of University Village) located 7400 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115.

Do read the complete post for further details.

Categories: Alert, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Music, Theatre, Wuthering Heights