Sitars and Prigs

Two usual suspects of recent Brontë news have an appearance today. Some reviews of Catherine Hardwicke's film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight:

[Kristen] Stewart has the right mix of teen angst, awkwardness, confusion, and strength for Bella; while [Robert] Pattinson has the right sense and sensibility of a Jane Austen or Charlotte Brontë hero, a mysterious, moody, dark and romantic Edward. The chemistry between them is blood perfect. (Terry Nelson in The Chronicle)

It’s that classic idea of being the girl who seems ordinary but has so much more to her than anyone suspects, and then some guy sees it in her and finds it irresistible. It’s the story behind every romantic comedy and thousands of books — it’s Jane Eyre, it’s Pride and Prejudice. And how can you not fantasize about being irresistible to this centuries-old vampire who’s seen it all and still thinks no other girl is quite as fabulous as you? You want to be Bella. (Kathleen Bell in See Magazine)

Unwholesome, sure, but arguably no more so than Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre, two better-written Gothic romances about young women in thrall to a remote, charismatic, often cruel hero. And while Pattinson’s Edward is a bit of a vain prig, no one you’d want to risk your immortal soul for, his worthiness doesn’t really matter. (See Magazine)

And Tamasha's theatre Bollywood-like adaptation of Wuthering Heights:

Bollywood Meets the Brontë sitars. (...)

A spokesman for Tamasha, the theatre company behind the new production, said Wuthering Heights would have the dark and brooding atmosphere of the original, with the feel-good elements of Bollywood.
Playwright Sudha Bhuchar, who set up Tamasha in 1989 with Kristine Landon-Smith, said: “The traditional Bollywood audience won’t be disappointed. They will get all the ingredients of a good Bollywood film – tension and romance, and, of course the songs and dancing.
“But it is such an iconic love story that we hope people who do not know Bollywood will see it as a story that transcends location.”
Bronte Parsonage Museum director Andrew McCarthy has given his blessing to the new musical.
“I am delighted about it,” he said. “One of the things we have been trying to do in recent years is to break down this image of the parsonage as a white, middle-class tourist attraction.
“We are in Bradford district which is obviously a tremendously multi-cultural area and we want to appeal to as many people from different cultures as we can.
“Wuthering Heights is, in one respect quintessentially Yorkshire, but in another way it is not at all. When you read the book, there is very little description of the landscape – that interpretation comes through films later on.
“It is a story which can be adapted to any historical period and any geographical or cultural setting.”
The company, which staged the original version of East Is East, is currently casting for Wuthering Heights, which goes on tour next spring.
The tour starts in Oldham in March and the nearest show to Bradford is at the Harrogate Theatre, from Tuesday, June 16, to Saturday, June 20. To book tickets visit the website at harrogatetheatre.co.uk or call (01423) 502116. (Marc Meneaud in The Telegraph & Argus)

The Reader interviews actress Jill Anderson who wants to play again Charlotte Brontë, we suppose in the William Luce's play Brontë:

She also said that she is enjoying teaching jobs in the interim, is looking to expand her presence to Kansas City and hopeful that she can do her one-woman show about Charlotte Bronte in the near future. (Patricia Sindelar)

Categories: Music, References, Theatre, Wuthering Heights