A Shaolin Monk dancing in the Champions League

Let's start with a couple of reviews of Wuthering Heights adaptations:

First, Cathy Marston's Wuthering Heights ballet is reviewed in The Independent:

If you were to condense the plot of Wuthering Heights and put it in a teabag, the result would make a pretty thin brew. This may be why Emily Brontë's wild and blustery love story has proved such a draw for the stage. What people tend to remember from the book isn't who did what to whom, but what it felt like. Atmosphere is all – howling gales, moorland crags, hard box-beds, the glowering dark – which partly explains why, just as a Bollywood musical version closes in the West End, a contemporary dance treatment has blown in from Switzerland. Directors can't leave it alone.
And sure enough, the best thing about Cathy Marston's 70-minute Wuthering Heights for Bern Ballet is the feeling it captures with minimal means. A few irregular blocks do for the upland scenery, providing slopes for the lovers to gambol on and clifftops to wuther them. Designer Jann Messerli also does drop-down bamboo blinds which clatter oppressively like anger darkening a mind. David Maric's score, for electronics and live double bass, is a meterological marvel with its high, sighing melodies and rumbling climaxes that threaten to burst into heavy rock but never do.
At the start, too, Marston's choreography is thrillingly outdoorsy, suggesting endless space as Jenny Tattersall's Cathy flips and scampers, repeatedly flinging herself, spread-eagled, into Gary Marshall's Heathcliff to hook a leg around his shoulder and wind around his neck. It's fast, free, virtuosic stuff, joyfully executed.
The trouble comes when other characters intrude. There is Hindley (Cathy's nasty brother), Edgar (her rich husband-to-be), and Isabella (Edgar's prim sister), yet little of consequence happens. No wonder Marston felt obliged to amplify the leading pair with four other Cathy and Heathcliff couples, who echo their steps at moments of heightened emotion. And that's most of the time. All praise to Tattersall for her intensity, but, frankly, after Cathy's fourth or fifth tortured duet with the moody hunk she apparently doesn't want but can't keep her hands off, I was itching to give the girl a hard slap. For all its ingenuity, this Wuthering Heights serves only to highlight the frustrating aspects of the original. (Jenny Gilbert)

The Northern Echo reviews Tamasha's Wuthering Heights with an overdose of metaphors:

WHEN it comes to an arranged marriage between brooding Bronte and the bling of Bollywood, there are signs that Tamasha’s efforts are close to hitting the Wuther-lode.
Ex-EastEnder Deepak Verma’s inspiration of switching the brusqueness of the Yorkshire Moors for the sandstorms and heated passions of Indian’s Rajasthan desert adds the essential Asian dimension to this well-worn love story.
Thus fiery Heathcliff becomes Krishan (Pushpinder Chani) and headstrong Cathy is Shakuntala (Youkti Patel), locked in a lifetime of impossible love.
But what of the ambitions of this becoming a full-blown Bollywood musical, with a film version already being discussed? Surely you need songs with as much instant appeal as Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights, not to mention the unromantic element of comedy characters?
Verma and director Kristine Landon-Smith cleverly turn to the lip-synched music and lyrics of Felix Cross and Sheema Mukherjee, which bravely attempts the leap between traditional regional sounds and contemporary composition.
Most of the laughter is produced by bickering servants Ayah (Rina Fatania) and Yusuf (Adeel Akhtar), although even a glossary of Hindi words at the back of the book/programme fails to help with some sharp, clearly-funny exchanges, which even shoot over the heads of the native language speakers in the audience.
Verma cheekily throws in a homage to My Fair Lady with The Camel Races song matching the eye-catching Ascot scene, complete with infamous four-letter word.
Major complaints are that the lengthy first half is clearly in need of a trim, with actors taking ages to make an entrance for no apparent reason, and Chani’s portrayal of Krishan lurches towards Captain Hook in need of a chiropractor.
Using a series of ramps is clever, but not always easy to negotiate for a hard-working 11-strong cast, varying in terms of age, size and colourful dress.
This heart-warming project may not have reached the heights in all areas, but Wednesday’s opening night was a lot nearer Barcelona than Manchester. (Viv Hardwick)

Another usual suspect in recent reviews is Lilian Pizzichini's The Blue Hour. Today's The Scotsman's turn:

Rhys is the Caribbean-born writer who spent much of her life in Europe, personified the louche life in ways that have guaranteed her an everlasting cult following and stunningly amplified Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre by writing one of the few great books hitched to an existing classic.
That is Wide Sargasso Sea, a novel that envisions the story of the first Mrs Rochester, the one locked in Mr Rochester's attic. (Janet Maslin)

Precisely, The Times talks about Rebecca Hall and mentions her role as Antoinette in Wide Sargasso Sea 2006:

The closest she has come so far to losing all control is as Jean Rhys’s pyromaniac heroine in the BBC’s Wide Sargasso Sea. (Jasper Rees)

The Independent (Ireland) interviews Ronald Masin and Maria Kelerman (from the Young European Strings) who reminds of us the following anecdote:

"I think it was more Ronald who chose me, because I didn't think of myself as being very attractive," says Maria. "I was so busy trying to survive life and learn French, that I wasn't attracted to anyone. We had to communicate with one another in English, some of which I learned from reading Wuthering Heights with a dictionary beside me." (Andrea Smith)

The theatrical agent Duncan Heath talks with his daughter Laura in The Times. This reference,we hope, is not to be taken literally:

My biggest wish is for her to meet someone and be happy. But she’s a great romantic. She doesn’t want free love; she wants Wuthering Heights.

The Times also brings another bizarre story. Do you imagine Shaolin monks being inspired by Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights choreography? Reality surpasses fiction:

The few in the West who are at home in their bodies are dancers such as Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, born in 1976 in Belgium, to a Catholic mother and Moroccan Muslim father. At 14, he saw Kate Bush performing Wuthering Heights and was knocked out.
“I was quite chubby,” Cherkaoui says, “and very much a brain child, but I really loved the way she was moving. I thought it would be so liberating to be able to move like that. I started imitating artists with some friends. I think the body really needs to use its intelligence to do things. When you’re a child, your body screams to do things.” (Bryan Appleyard)

Movies Buzz classifies Wuthering Heights 1939 as one of the Top 10 Love Stories. Bloggerel informs (quoting the last issue of The Bookseller) how the recently published Swedish translation of Agnes Grey (see this previous post) enters the top 10 of April bestsellers (is number six, no less). The book by Anne Brontë is reviewed by holydread. Pequena Infante has bought the Complete Brontë Collection and Corner of the Library posts a nice bookmark with the Brontë Waterfall.

Categories: Agnes Grey, Dance, Music, References, Theatre, Translations, Wide Sargasso Sea, Wuthering Heights

A head dress and a bag

As you know the Brontës reach all realms and fashion, though an unlikely connection, likes its Brontës as well. So here we bring you a couple of accessories.

Here on the left you can see a 'Jane Eyre wedding head dress' made by Estibalitz Diaz de Durana from Leatelier. It is described as follows:

La intención con este tocado es recrear,en lo posible, el aire romántico Victoriano, de ahí su nombre. Confeccionado en seda salvaje y tul, adornado con pequeñas perlas y cristales, rematado atrás con una lazada.
The object of this head dress is to recreate as much as possible the romantic Victorian style, hence the name. Raw silk and tulle with small pearls and crystals, tied at the back with a lace. (Picture source)

We have to ask though, whether a Jane Eyre-inspired head accessory for a wedding is truly advisable.

"Not at first. But presently she took my veil from its place; she held it up, gazed at it long, and then she threw it over her own head, and turned to the mirror. At that moment I saw the reflection of the visage and features quite distinctly in the dark oblong glass." [...]
"Sir, it removed my veil from its gaunt head, rent it in two parts, and flinging both on the floor, trampled on them." [...]
"But, sir, when I said so to myself on rising this morning, and when I looked round the room to gather courage and comfort from the cheerful aspect of each familiar object in full daylight, there -- on the carpet -- I saw what gave the distinct lie to my hypothesis, -- the veil, torn from top to bottom in two halves!" (Jane Eyre, ch. XXV)

Oh well, we suppose as long as there is no madwoman in the attic you should be quite safe.

And our second accessory leans more towards everyday use. We actually don't know if its name, Bronte Bag, is inpired by the Brontës, as the bag itself does not provide us with many clues. Because fashion ignorants that we are it looks to us like what it exactly is: another Burberry bag.

Categories: Jane Eyre, Weirdo

Narrative Ballet and Two of the Best Roles in Dance Drama

Two reviews of recent performances of Brontë-related ballets:

Cathy Marston's Wuthering Heights reviewed by The Guardian:

Cathy Marston is one of the few choreographers of her generation committed to remastering the story ballet, and Wuthering Heights represents her most exciting attempt to date. Ignoring previous melodramatic attempts on Emily Brontë's novel, Marston goes straight to the eye of the narrative storm, paring it down to emotional and symbolic essentials.
Using a semi-abstract score by Dave Maric and an equally reduced set - slabs of free-standing rock and a hanging mesh of rope - Marston's approach may appear cool, but from the opening scene, where Cathy and Heathcliff tumble freely on the moors, surrounded by a chorus whose dancing evokes both elemental solidity and airy wildness, Marston uses all her choreographic intelligence to portray the passions of her characters. Her use of the chorus is central. When Heathcliff is forced to leave Cathy, his violent, angular reactions are echoed by the three men who surround and box him in.
Yet Marston can be equally good at focusing the dramatic spotlight. The trio of Cathy, Heathcliff and their victim Isabella displays a dense drama of abasement, desire and revenge. There is brilliantly original material here, given fine performances by Switzerland's Bern:Ballett, yet it doesn't quite fulfil Marston's mission of delivering a new style of narrative ballet.
The problem is that she doesn't know how much of a storyteller she wants to be. At times, she gives us too much plot - the character of Hindley makes confusing and unnecessary appearances - or too little, skimping on pivotal moments, such as Cathy falling for Edgar. This only works as a Wuthering Heights ballet for those who have read the novel. (Judith Mackrell)

And the Ballet Magazine reviews the Northern Ballet Theatre's performances of yet another Wuthering Heights ballet: David Nixon's.

I think WH is one of David Nixon's biggest achievements during his tenure at NBT. Just as Romeo & Juliet and A Christmas Carol are still essential parts of the company's repertoire, I suspect WH will be entertaining audiences for many years.
Dance seems the perfect medium for a story of obsessive, destructive love and this production doesn't disappoint. For a start it has a clear, accessible narrative, very effective use of a dance vocabulary for each of the characters, a stunning and evocative set as well as a lush, romantic score by Claude Michel Schonberg. It really is staged so well - the wedding scenes especially effective (heathcliff's arrival always has a real frisson that reminds me of Adam Cooper's arrival at the ball in the second act of MAtthew Bourne's Swan Lake...)
And there's a new generation of dancers to tackle what must be two of the best roles in dance drama. At Thursday's matinee in Hull Georgina May danced Cathy with the aura and technique of a principal dancer. And Tobias Batley was a revelation to me as Heathcliff. He gavesuch a strong, dramatic performance that I can't believe he's somehow slipped under my radaro so far. Heathcliff's seduction (if we can call it that) of Isabella was rutal but compelling.... I wonder what questions the teachers in the school party in the stalls had on the bus back to Bridlington..... How marvellous to see a young British dancer have the chance to perform such a challenging
At Thursday's evening performance, Keiko Amemori was the perfect cathy, a genuine "wild, wicked slip" whose delicacy contrasted so much with Chris Hinton-Lewis's passionate Heathcliff. A different reading to Tobias Batley's, he brought out the pathos in the character while showing the demons that drive Heathcliff to destruction.
Another excellent production in what's a brilliant season. A nice innovation in the programme too, with great group pictures of the company instead of the usual mugshots. (Claire Suddaby)

Categories: Dance, Wuthering Heights

A curio, Victorian or otherwise

The Prague Post reviews the Prague Fringe performances of The New Victorian Manifesto. It seems that the actual Brontës are less in it than we expected:

Yes. Well. Hmm. A curio, Victorian or otherwise. The blurbs seem to promise something that was seldom seen in this evening, which was in equal parts frustrating, unique and, at times, unintentionally entertaining. What is this new Victorian manifesto? Not a clue, unless it was vocalist-keyboardist Nick Pagan's dictum that true poets and artists must continue to aspire in the face of adversity - something he banged on a bit more than his Casio. I went expecting this singular soul, who speaks in an accent somewhere between Mid-Atlantic and Liberace, and who has worked with Siouxsie and the Banshees, to meld contemporary music with the verse of Thomas Hardy, Emily Bronte, Matthew Arnold, et al. And, while there were two examples of this at the top of the program, the rest of the hour was spent being forced to acknowledge Pagan's own versifying (a song about Prozac was particularly forgettable) or find him creatively trying to shoe-horn the Beatles and John Cale into this vague Victorian manifesto. The oddity of the evening was enhanced by a startling time-warp in the room. There was Pagan, mop-topped and passionately attacking his keyboard, as if still auditioning three decades ago for a chance to open for Spandau Ballet. But to his left were two sleek, elegant French musicians (Catherine Lubatti on electric violin and Damien Soupizet on eclectic [sic] guitar), both brilliant, and both seemingly visitors from a more promising future. Under what circumstances did these people meet? It's one of the hour's greatest questions. Still, STILL, Pagan is unlike anyone else. He is his own man, complete with his own loves and manias, and more power to him. He's a true original, and, in this dull age of stifling conformity, I salute him. (Steffen Silvis)

The Provincetown Banner reviews a local production of The Mystery of Irma Vep (at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater):

The Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater jumps into its 25th season with this Charles Ludlam play, subtitled “A Penny Dreadful.” It is, and is intended to be, an over-the-top send-up of everything from “Jane Eyre” and especially “Rebecca” to Edgar Allen Poe and every other book, poem and movie of the genre. (Sue Harrison)

Broadway World presents yet another production of the Charles Ludlam's play by The Atlanta Shakespeare Company at The New American Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta, Georgia. And The Arizona Daily Star talks about another one by the Live Theatre Workshop in Tucson:

"It's a wonderful spoof of movies like 'Rebecca' and 'Wuthering Heights,' " said [Leslie J. ] Miller, adding that puns are plentiful, too. (Kathleen Allen)

Amanda Ash in The Times-Colonist gets a nomination for this most unBrontëite of references. Reviewing Jumpin' Jack by Lyle Victor:

The play is filled with witty one-liners and laugh-worthy expressions, but as a whole, it feels like reading Jane Eyre. An 80 minute one-man play is simply too long.

The Chicago Tribune reviews Lilian Pizzichini's biography of Jean Rhys: The Blue Hour:

Yet she was holed up in a bungalow in Cornwall working for decades on what would be considered her masterpiece, "Wide Sargasso Sea," which evokes Rhys' childhood and rewrites one of the most famous screeching mutes in literary history, Charlotte Bronte's lunatic Bertha Mason in "Jane Eyre."
"I wanted to write her a life," Rhys said of Antoinette Cosway, her tragic Creole heiress. Lilian Pizzichini's goal in her new biography, "The Blue Hour," is also to rescue Rhys from the caricature of a life of ill repute and drunken dissolution. (Kate Zambreno)

A local musician competing in the Edmonton Provincial Music Festival (Canada):

Jordyn Appleby is competing in the musical theatre category, which includes singing and dancing in costume from a stage production. Her piece is a song called Forgiveness from the musical Jane Eyre. (Crowsnest Pass Promoter)

And in Xalapa, México at the Festival de la Lectura:

Hoy, los estudiantes volverán a estar en el Festival de la Lectura, de 12:00 a 14:00 horas en la Casa del Lago, mostrando está técnica de grabado y regalando a los asistentes grabados de las portadas de la Biblioteca del Universitario.
Algunos de los autores de los grabados de la colección son los siguientes: (...)Cumbres borrascosas de Emily Brontë. (Juan Carlos Plata in Diario de Xalapa) (Google translation)

And even more students with Brontë leanings. In Volgograd, Russia, the winner of the regional competition Герой нашего времени (The hero of our time) is Надежда Дружинина which devoted her work to Jane Eyre according to Volgograd.ru.

RealTV News announces the broadcast of Jane Eyre 2006 in Europa, Europa TV for Latin America.

Ratschlag24 reviews James Birdsall's Die Welt der Brontës:

Die Schwestern Anne, Charlotte und Emily Bronte faszinieren ihre Leser seit anderthalb Jahrhunderten und bereits seit 1850 interessieren sich Literaturtouristen für die Orte, an denen die Familie lebte und die in ihren Romanwelten beschrieben wird. Der Bildband „Die Welt der Brontes“ zeigt auf wunderschönen Fotos Häuser und Orte, die mit der Familie verknüpft sind. Das Pfarrhaus in Haworth, in dem die Brontes den größten Teil ihres Lebens verbrachten, ist selbstverständlich zu sehen, aber auch die Apotheke, in der sich ihr Bruder Branwell mit Opium versorgte, ist noch erhalten und die von ihrem Vater, dem Reverend, erbaute Sonntagsschule. Hinzu kommen Orte, die in den Texten beschrieben werden, und für die es – mal gesichert, mal wahrscheinlich - ein Pendant in der Realität gibt. Charlotte beschreibt in Jane Eyre das Dorf Morton, und man darf annehmen, dass sie dabei den Ort Hathersage vor Orten hatte. Wo Wuthering Heights liegt, das bleibt allerdings weiter ungeklärt.
Nun kann man sich fragen, warum man einen Bildband braucht, wenn in den Romanen doch alles dargestellt wird - reicht das nicht? Schon. Aber irgendwann möchte man eben genauer wissen, wie ein Herrenhaus beschaffen ist, das „nicht gerade riesig, aber doch von stattlichem Ausmaß“ ist, wie die karge Heidelandschaft aussieht und die Bilder von den engen Dorfgässchen geben sowieso vor, die Zeit sei stehen geblieben. (Pia Helfferich) (Google translation)

And hearing aids and Jane Eyre in the Bemidji Pioneer, Cornucopia of Books reviews Wuthering Heights, Concursori (Romania) invites you to win a copy of Charlotte Brontë's The Professor in Romanian just by answering a very easy question.

Categories: Books, Music, References, The Professor, Theatre, Wuthering Heights

Talks and courses

1. Starting today, May 30, in Buenos Aires, Argentina:

ESSARP (The English Speaking Scholastic Association of the River Plate): Courses

Gender Matters in Jane Eyre (IGCSE 2009 - 2010)
Coordinators Mónica Beatriz Cuello

Objectives:
To explore the context of production of the novel.
- To study female characters, namely Jane, Helen Burns, Mrs. Fairfax, Adele, Miss Ingram, Grace Poole and Bertha Mason.
- To focus our attention on their speech, silences, attitudes and behaviour.
- To establish relations with other texts, Rebecca (the novel by Daphne Du Maurier and Hithcock's film), film versions of Jane Eyre and Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea.

Contents:
- Charlotte Bronte's life.
- Britain in the 19th century: the status of women
- The woman as the angel of the house: does the text embody or subvert this construct?
- The selected female characters and their role in the novel.
- Introduction of texts which can be read / seen to enrich our understanding of the novel.

2. And last April at the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, & Letters:

Annual Conference
April 10, 2009

2:30 Jane Eyre: Healing from Emotional, Physical, Verbal and Societal Abuse
Janice Stringham LeFevre, Weber State University

EDIT (November 2009): The author of the article has contacted us and announces that the paper will be published next Spring at the Journal of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters with the name "Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre: A Psychological Model for Healing from Emotional, Physical, Verbal, and Societal Abuse".

3. And last February at the University of London, Birkbeck:

Works In Progress Postgraduate Conference 2009

2:45 – 3:45: Panel 3: “Psychoanalytic Approaches to 19th and 20th Century Literature” (Chair: Hilary Fraser)
* Lucy Scholes: “Sister Texts: Wuthering Heights and The Parasites”

4. And just yesterday, May 29 in L'Aquila (Italy) a Jane Eyre Day workshop at the Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, Università degli Studi dell'Aquila

Il Seminario di Studio "Jane Eyre Day" avrà luogo, come già a suo tempo annunciato, il giorno 29 maggio 2009 a Coppito 1, in un'aula della Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia presso il Blocco 11. I lavori cominceranno alle ore 10, si interromperanno alle ore 13 e riprenderanno alle ore 14.30 per concludersi alle ore 17.

Gli studenti iscritti al Seminario (anche coloro che non hanno potuto ricevere una risposta dalla docente organizzatrice, Prof. Laura Di Michele, a causa della tardiva iscrizione sono stati accettati) sono invitati a presentarsi davanti al Blocco 11 un'ora prima dell'inizio dei lavori previsti per le ore 10 in punto, onde consentire una ordinata e veloce registrazione sui fogli di presenza preparati ad hoc. Si ricorda agli studenti che, al termine dei lavori del Seminario previsti per le ore 17, dovranno apporre una loro firma sui fogli di presenza. Addette a tale servizio sono le studentesse specialzzande della Laurea specialistica LM 37. Tale operazione consentirà di rilasciare un attestato di frequenza, con conseguente conferimento di 3 CFU nelle "Altre Attivià Formative" che potrà essere ritirato, presso la tenda 12, dalle ore 10 alle ore 14 del giorno 3 giugno 2009. (Google translation)

Categories: Scholar, Talks

The Brontës on stage

A few news outlets review the London performances of Cathy Marston's Wuthering Heights ballet.

The Stage:

A new full-length ballet is a rare species. One created by a female choreographer resides in the endangered category. While there are a number of brilliant classical and contemporary female choreographers around, their work is usually at best given studio space. While Cathy Marston’s Wuthering Heights for Bern Ballet is not gracing the main auditorium, at the Royal Opera House, it is indeed a full-length piece. Unfortunately, it would fare far better as one third of a triple bill.
Rather than sticking to the original narrative, the piece probes the dynamics between the five central characters: Cathy, Heathcliff, Hindley, Edgar and Isabella. Although this ensures some fascinating character interplay as relationships emerge, blossom and flounder between the five, it also confuses an already complicated non-linear narrative.
The whole cast are technically superb, beautifully rehearsed and fully engaged with their characters at every moment. Jenny Tattersall as Cathy is outstanding in her paradoxical combination of strength and vulnerability, whilst Gary Marshall as Heathcliff manages to make every limb, every movement, smoulder with intensity. Eric Guillard as Cathy’s jealous brother, Hindley, is utterly compelling, yet Chien-Mind Chang (as Edgar) and Hui-Chen Tsai (as Isabella) both lack stage presence despite their obvious technical prowess. The excellent corps de ballet, dancing as ‘Echoes’ of Cathy and Heathcliff, move as though compelled by some wild inner force - limbs flailing, bodies tumbling in crazed, seemingly sporadic, synchronisation.
David Maric’s score - a blend of electronic sounds and live double-bass solos, played with concentrated passion by Mich Gerber - is hauntingly evocative, brilliantly echoing the vastness and menacing presence of Bronte’s infamous moors. Stretched over 70 minutes, however, the persistent beat begins to feel less like an underlying pulse and more like an irritating clock.
Jann Messerli’s set is a model of minimalism and is incorporated well into the choreography - save, perhaps, for the four chairs. However clever it may seem to use one prop or piece of set in a hundred different ways, if used too much the symbolism that the object accumulates becomes confused and, as a result, so does the audience.
Although Marston’s Wuthering Heights contains some absolute gems of choreography, they would sparkle brighter if 30 minutes was shaved off the running time. (Sarah Wilkinson)

The Times gives it 2 stars out of 5:

As a choreographer, Cathy Marston has in recent years revealed a taste for literary sources. In 2005 she staged Ibsen’s Ghosts at the Linbury; three years later she was commissioned by Northern Ballet Theatre to adapt Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. Now comes Wuthering Heights for Bern: Ballett, the Swiss company she currently directs. But giving your ballet a famous title sets up certain expectations of narrative and characterisation, expectations that here fall short. For despite focusing on just five characters and dealing with only the first half of the book, Marston’s 70-minute ballet is an elliptical and bewildering evocation of a generalised emotional turmoil devoid of specific dramatic hooks.
Marston covers herself by describing it not as an adaptation of Emily Brontë’s novel but as “a personal response inspired by its central characters, Catherine and Heathcliff”. In addition to the iconic lovers the cast includes Hindley (Cathy’s cruel brother), Edgar (her rich husband-to-be) and Isabella (Edgar’s sister), though it takes a while to figure out who is who. The confusion is partly caused by having “Echoes of Cathy and Heathcliff” dotted around the stage, acting as an abstraction of their passions, and partly by the choreography’s inability to differentiate between male characters (do we really need Hindley at all?). Quite rightly, Marston focuses on the selfish Cathy and her conflicting desires. We see her cavorting on the moors with Heathcliff and pursuing her infatuation with Edgar. In this, Marston achieves some of her most emotive and streamlined choreography, though the repetitious nature of its rolling momentum makes one yearn for a more distinctive punctuation.
What she does deliver is a wild and suffocating atmosphere in which emotions are as out of control as the storms that lash the countryside. Dave Maric’s music, scored for double bass and electronics, is an effective partner. Jann Messerli’s set comprises several large blocks that suggest the physical features of the moors and the inner darkness that entraps the characters. Jenny Tattersall brings vivid colouring to Cathy despite the limitations; Gary Marshall broods impressively as Heathcliff. (Debra Craine) (Picture source)

The London Evening Standard:

Barely a week after Tamasha’s Bollywood song and dance version of Wuthering Heights finished at the Lyric Hammersmith, along comes a dance adaptation of Emily Brontë’s gothic tale of wind and misery at the Linbury. It’s by Cathy Marston, the dancer-turned-choreographer who trained at the Royal Ballet before becoming director of Bern Ballet.
Marston focuses on the first half of Brontë’s book, deftly conveying the central relationship between Cathy (Jenny Tattersall) and Heathcliff (Gary Marshall) in a series of powerful duets.
There are also unnerving sequences for Cathy and her brother Hindley, Cathy and her husband-to-be Edgar, and for Heathcliff and Edgar’s sister Isabella, all of which remind you that thwarted emotions have negative externalities.
This 70-minute Heights is not without problems. As well as the five main characters, Marston uses another seven dancers to amplify Cathy and Heathcliff’s emotions. This is gilding the gilding, as the unhappy pair hardly need help expressing themselves. The result is an emotional pitch set at high and a diminution of your sympathy.
Another niggle is the costumes, which are similar beige dresses for the women and beige trews for the men so it’s tricky telling one character from the next. There’s also choreographic drift and the perennial problem of taking Heights seriously when its hero, whose name includes the words heath and cliff, wanders emotionally around and jumps passionately off.
Much better is the almost non-existent set (a clever piece of counter-design), and Dave Maric’s jagged score which provides both meteorological mood and emotional daggers. (Sarah Frater)

The ballet is also reviewed on the blog Life in the Cheap Seats. The ballet is in London until Saturday.

But that's not all there is Brontë-related on stage. The Journal (Newcastle) writes again about Tamasha's Wuthering Heights.

Wuthering Heights at Northern Stage until tomorrow.
In adapting a classic Victorian novel for the stage – especially Emily Brönte’s tale of stormy passion on windswept Yorkshire moors – you wouldn’t imagine India would naturally spring to mind as a backdrop.
But a bold move by writer Deepak Verma and British Asian theatre company Tamasha sees tortured lovers Heathcliff and Cathy uprooted to 18th Century Rajasthan – where, apparently, the show’s designer headed for ideas before creating costumes and sets for this Bollywood-style musical.
And from the opening yellow- hued scenes of sand dunes, camels and the sounds of an Indian market, they show that bold is beautiful.
Whirling desert sandstorms, vibrant colours, Indian music and breezy songs – lip-synched (very well) in true Bollywood fashion – conjure up a big-scale setting to match the epic nature of the tale.
Youkti Patel takes on the role of Cathy (here called Shakuntala) - whose father adopts street urchin Krishan (Heathcliff) played by Pushpinder Chani.
And they capture the raw intensity of Brönte’s lovers, from their young, carefree days to their reunion after Shakuntala marries their rich neighbour.
Like the film and TV versions we’ve seen, this necessarily cuts out many characters plus the latter part of the book, but it never loses sight of the heart of the story.
And the East-West fusion, which almost seamlessly interweaves Hindi phrases, cleverly finds parallels between the restrictive class consciousness of the 1847 novel and the Indian caste system; and between ideas of fate and reincarnation.
The Nelly Dean and Joseph characters, who acted as the book’s narrator and moral compass, are here too, with Rina Fatania’s Ayah a delightful earth mother figure.
With great performances all round, this ambitious production is quite an achievement.
I loved the book, which clearly stands the test of time, but even as stand-alone theatre this is a gem: a powerful story beautifully told, with a little twist at the end which seems entirely fitting and leaves a lump in the throat. (Barbara Hodgson)

The Lichfield County Times announces what FineLine's Young Actors will be playing at The Sherman Playhouse (Connecticut) on June 6 and 7.

The final piece takes a more serious turn with "Jane Eyre: Life at Lowood." This performance looks at Jane Eyre's teenage years, with some retrospection on her younger years; life as an unwanted and abused child does not diminish her hope.

And to wrap up our unofficial stage section, a more remote review, as the Brontë connection is added by the reviewer from Liverpool Confidential when writing about the play Lost Monsters.

The production is blessed with a great design from Simon Daw, a grim house which seems straight out of the Brontes. . . (Phil Key)

The Guardian finally reveals the top five fictional characters. Among the heroines we find our very own Jane:

Jane Eyre (Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte)
There's more to Charlotte Bronte's unassuming schoolmistress than you might initially think. One of life's meek, mild maidens on the surface, Jane is all boiling repressed sexuality within; but she cunningly confines her wild, dark, passionate side to the attic of her soul in order to maintain her pristine image as virtuous Victorian victim. The girl got spirit, but she knows that modest compliance and virginal restraint are always going to win with an alpha male like Edward Rochester. After all, reader, she married him. And got the big country pile.

And among the heroes is Heathcliff, though we bet they have had a hard time trying to decide whether to place him in this category or under villains.

Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte)
Heathcliff can largely be held responsible for the hundreds of modern young women currently weeping about their hopeless addiction to bastards into their fourth glass of rosé. From the moment teenage girls are forced to read Wuthering Heights in school, the course of their miserable love lives is set. We know that nothing good will ever come of a psychologically scarred, pathologically jealous demon-foundling from Liverpool; we know gypsy looks and brooding sulks do not bode well; but then deep down what girl doesn't really want "a fierce, pitiless, wolfish man" willing to disinter her grave? Case closed.

A brand-new crop of Brontëites:

Uptown Magazine on writer/director Danishka Esterhazy's feature-length debut, Black Field.

"I've always been a really big fan of Gothic literature - in particular, the novels of the Bronte sisters. As a child, before I had the chance to visit England, I always imagined the English moors to look like the Canadian Prairies. Now, of course, after being there, I realize they look nothing alike; still, I thought it would be fun to write a story fit for the moors but have it take place here." (Aaron Graham)

The Chicago Daily Herald on local teacher Judith Brodhead:

While her community involvements used to be a relief from teaching, now it's the other way around.
"I really love walking into a classroom and talking about 'Jane Eyre' or 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles,' or a film," she said. "That's fun." (Melissa Jenco)

And we are not quite sure whether writer Louis Ferrante is an actual Brontëites, but his reference to the Brontës in the Jewish Ledger is surely full of admiration:

I'd like to write more about how I educated myself and became a writer, which I did just by studying masterpieces: "War and Peace," "Les Miserables," the Brontë sisters. I would just keep reading books and dissect how the authors wrote. (Cindy Mindell)

In brief: The Independent reviews The Blue Hour: A Life of Jean Rhys by Lilian Pizzichini. And the Mormon Times links to a blog post on an aimless walk on the moors (apparently like a modern-day Jane Eyre).

Apart from that blog post, it seems like the blogosphere today is all for Emily Brontë. Wuthering Heights is discussed on Pen and Palette and Manifesto Jeocaz Lee-Meddi (in Portuguese). YouTube user JaneLearmonth reads Emily's poem Sympathy.

Categories: Brontëites, Dance, Jane Eyre, Music, Theatre, Wide Sargasso Sea, Wuthering Heights

The Colonial Connection

Starting today in Shoalhaven, NSW, Australia:

29th – 31st May 2009: The Colonial Connection

A joint conference of the Australian Brontë Association and the NSW Dickens Society.
Location

Coolangatta Estate, Shoalhaven
4 star Historic Resort and Winery, near Berry

Key Speakers:

* Sandra Faulkner (Dickens and Australia)
* Susannah Fullerton (Mary Shelley, including her connections with Coolangatta)
* Roslyn Russell (NSW in 1820-1840, with a focus on the colonial diarist Annabella Boswell)
* Anne Collett (Alexander Harris, who wrote about life in NSW in the 1820s and 1830s, and who was one of Charlotte Brontë’s best loved writers)
Charlotte Brontë wrote, in one of her letters to W.S. Williams at Smith Elder & Co, that there are times when she’s so low that all she can read, apart from the Bible, is the writing of Alexander Harris. Among his works, published by her own publisher, Smith Elder & Co, are an autobiography Settlers and Convicts and a novel The Emigrant Family. Charlotte wrote warmly in praise of the novel and so it’s clear that she knew a lot more about life in NSW than we might have imagined.

More details about the talks can be read here.

Categories: Alert, Talks

On how to choose a musical

Nothing much to report today on the news front with the possible exception of this highly valuable piece of advice on how to choose a musical, courtesy of the Nashua Telegraph:

Judy Hayward, resident music director for Stagecoach Productions in Nashua, said the group's mission is to do the smaller, more experimental shows.
"Three years ago when we started, part of our mission was to do good shows that aren't done, that are not as popular," she said.
For example, the playhouse did "Jane Eyre, The Musical," even though almost nobody had ever heard of it. But Stagecoach Productions chose it because the music was beautiful, she said. (Melanie Plenda)

Which, in our humble opinion, should be one of the main reasons for picking a show always. And we wonder whether 'experimental' really applies to Jane Eyre, the Musical.

The blogosphere is a bit livelier. More reviews of Jillian Dare, this time by Creative Madness and Blogging with Carol. Also in the Brontë-inspired category would be Jennifer Vandever's The Brontë Project, which is reviewed by Books I Done Read. Shelf It or Sell It posts about Wuthering Heights and sns_red_curtain has uploaded screencaps from Wuthering Heights 2009. Both One person's journey through a world of books and Donna's Journey write about Jane Eyre. And it couldn't be otherwise, at least one blog has remembered so far: Rank Zero and Brontës.nl commemorates Anne Brontë's death anniversary today.

Categories: Books, Jane Eyre, Music

160 years ago...

If a few days ago we pictured Anne, Charlotte and Ellen Nussey arriving in Scarborough and drinking dandelion coffee, today the picture is rather gloomier. We must imagine what Ellen Nussey told Elizabeth Gaskell:

Picture: © Michael Armitage. Source: The Scarborough Connection.
Taken from the main balcony of the Grand Hotel; this is the view Anne would have had looking slightly to the left through her Wood's Lodgings room window.

She rose at seven o'clock, and performed most of her toilet herself, by her expressed wish. Her sister always yielded such points, believing it was the truest kindness not to press inability when it was not acknowledged. Nothing occurred to excite alarm till about 11 A.M. She then spoke of feeling a change.' She believed she had not long to live. Could she reach home alive, if we prepared immediately for departure?' A physician was sent for. Her address to him was made with perfect composure. She begged him to say ' How long he thought she might live; - not to fear speaking the truth, for she was not afraid to die.' The doctor reluctantly admitted that the angel of death was already arrived, and that life was ebbing fast. She thanked him for his truthfulness, and he departed to come again very soon. She still occupied her easy chair, looking so serene, so reliant there was no opening for grief as yet, though all knew the separation was at hand. She clasped her hands, and reverently invoked a blessing from on high; first upon her sister, then upon her friend, to whom she said, 'Be a sister in my stead. Give Charlotte as much of your company as you can.' She then thanked each for her kindness and attention.
"Ere long the restlessness of approaching death appeared, and she was borne to the sofa; on being asked if she were easier, she looked gratefully at her questioner, and said, 'It is not you who can give me ease, but soon all will be well, through the merits of our Redeemer.' Shortly after this, seeing that her sister could hardly restrain her grief, she said, ' Take courage, Charlotte; take courage. Her faith never failed, and her eye never dimmed till about two o'clock, when she calmly and without a sigh passed from the temporal to the eternal. So still, and so hallowed were her last hours and moments. There was no thought of assistance or of dread. The doctor came and went two or three times. The hostess knew that death was near, yet so little was the house disturbed by the presence of the dying, and the sorrow of those so nearly bereaved, that dinner was announced as ready, through the half-opened door, as the living sister was closing the eyes of the dead one. She could now no more stay the welled-up grief of her sister with her emphatic and dying ' Take courage,' and it burst forth in brief but agonising strength. Charlotte's affection, however, had another channel, and there it turned in thought, in care, and in tenderness. There was bereavement, but there was not solitude; - sympathy was at hand, and it was accepted.

Categories: Anne Brontë, Reminder

Victorian Manifesto

A couple of alerts for today, May 28:

1. As we have posted before, today opens at the Prague Fringe Festival, The New Victorian Manifesto by the French Company The New Victorian Set:

The New Victorian Manifesto by The New Victorian Set

28.05.2009 16:30; 21:00
29.05.2009 16:30; 21:00
30.05.2009 16:30; 21:00

Where the 18th Century meets the 21st: Baroque Harpsichord, sequenced orchestra, synthesizer, drum machine, electric violin and guitar with lyrics inspired by Thomas Hardy, Emily Bronte and others all combine for a unique listening experience. Vocalist/ Keyboardist Nick Pagan has collaborated with members of The Swans, Siouxsie and The Banshees and The Velvet Underground. He is joined by Catherine Lubatti on violin and Damien Soupizet on eclectic (sic) guitar.

2. In Warrington, Cheshire, UK

Borders Warrington store
Fiction Book Group
7:00 pm, Thu 28th May 2009

This month the group will be meeting to discuss 'December' by Elizabeth H Winthrop & 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte. New members are always welcome.

Categories: Alert, Jane Eyre, Music

The Brontës are NOT only for girls

The Sikh Times is already warming up for June 9, when Tamasha and their take on Wuthering Heights arrive in Coventry.

The scorched desert landscape of Rajasthan is the setting for an evocative new musical interpretation of Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë’s timeless tale of passion, jealousy and revenge, which runs at the Belgrade Theatre from 9 – 13 June.
1770s Rajasthan, with its rigid social hierarchy, inequality of wealth and Victorian influences, is an ideal location for this classic story of passion corrupted by prevailing social values. In place of the cold moors, the wild scorched expanse of the desert provides a symbolic setting for the doomed love affair of Shakuntala and Krishan (Cathy and Heathcliff from the original novel).
“A stunning take on Wuthering Heights… the show looks gorgeous…Youkti Patel is a Bollywood-standard beauty” The Sunday Times
Tamasha’s version of Wuthering Heights retains the dark and brooding atmosphere of the original novel, whilst seeking to create a fresh musical style with a fusion between a Bollywood cinematic treatment and other more classical elements of a western musical. Wuthering Heights follows Tamasha’s previous large-scale populist productions, Fourteen Songs, Two Weddings and a Funeral and Strictly Dandia.
Director Kristine Landon-Smith, co-founder and artistic director of Tamasha, directed Bollywood musical: Fourteen Songs Two Weddings and A Funeral for the company. As an adaptation of the blockbuster Hum Aapke Hein Koun, this was a direct transfer of the original film to stage in English. Kristine’s recent credits include Sweet Cider (Arcola), A Fine Balance (Hampstead and UK tour), The Trouble With Asian Men (artsdepot and UK tours).
“Could surely transfer to the big screen with the same success as Tamasha's East is East" The Independent
Writer Deepak Verma has previously worked with Tamasha on his play Ghostdancing (Lyric Hammersmith, also directed by Kristine Landon-Smith) which was based on Zola’s Thérèse Raquin and translated to an Indian setting. He is additionally known for his long-running role as Sanjay in EastEnders.
Wuthering Heights, designer Sue Mayes travelled to Rajasthan in 2008 to research the set and costumes. Inspired by her trip, the design includes the scorched desert, a sumptuous palace and a camel racecourse! The creative team has also looked at the history of Indian cinema and used many classic films as reference, including Madhumati (1958) with its brooding landscapes, the brutality of Mother India (1957) which mixes folkloric music and culture with original composition, Devdas (1955) which examines caste hierarchies in a black and white epic narrative and the more recent colourful blockbuster, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999).
Music for the show, composed by Felix Cross and Sheema Mukherjee, reflects the epic nature of the story and landscape with a score that combines original composition and authentic Rajasthani folkloric music. Felix Cross is Artistic Director of Nitro and his extensive theatre credits include the music for Tamasha’s Ghostdancing and A Fine Balance. Sheema Mukherjee brings her blend of Western tradition and Indian classical music. Previously she has collaborated with Natacha Atlas, Transglobal Underground, Noel Gallagher, Cornershop and Courtney Pine. In Wuthering Heights eleven actors will sing in lip-synch to a pre-recorded score, which has been performed and recorded by a team of classically-trained musicians in Bangalore and vocalists in London. Musical Supervisor is John Rigby who has worked with many of the UK’s leading orchestras and on some of the West End’s biggest musicals. Co-arranger Chandru is a renowned violinist and arranger who has previously worked with George Harrison, Ravi Shankar, Bjork, Nitin Sawnhey and The Cure.
Choreography is by Nikki Woollaston (recent credits include West End musical Marguerite and ENO’s Kismet). The cast includes Pushpinder Chani as Krishan and newcomer Youkti Patel as Shakuntala.
Tickets are available now from the box office on 024 7655 3055 or via www.belgrade.co.uk, priced from £9.30 to £18.11.

Stage news comes also from Barry's Bay This Week about Murder by the Book, a play in two-acts presented by Madawaska Valley District High School last Thursday night.

When the Raven Society meets on an isolated island to determine the best mystery book of the year, little do the members realize that their own lives are in jeopardy. Membership in the society is secret: each person comes disguised as a famous author and is known only in that persona. When the group receives a letter declaring each member will die by their own words, the authors must determine who the murderer is before it’s too late.
This is the premise of “Murder By The Book,” a two-act play brought to life on the stage at Madawaska Valley District High School Thursday night. The authors were famous indeed: Agatha Christie (Kim Fehr), Edgar Allan Poe (Jacob Harron), Mary Shelley (Katherine Benkhe), William Shakespeare (Nathaniel Wildsmith Chappell), Mark Twain (Jordan Fehr), Louisa May Alcott (Joan Thompson), Charlotte Bronte (Amber Morrison), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Tylor Eleser) and Emily Dickinson (Melynda Marco). The only other person at the meeting is housekeeper Violia Danglon (Yasmin Fakli). (Heather Kendall)

On a not-so-unrelated note, the Boston Globe reviews composer John Williams's world premiere Concerto for Viola and Orchestra last night. Apart from that premiere, some of his soundtracks were also played.

And Williams's Suite from Jane Eyre gave the strings a chance to shine, especially in the second movement, when the conductor emeritus held up a finger to the violins to keep them sawing away while he leaned in the other direction to give close attention to the cellos. (Joel Brown)

John Williams wrote the beautiful score of Jane Eyre 1970.

Author Margaret Blake reveals she's a true Brontëite in an interview by the Dallas Examiner.

If you could only have one book to read for the rest of your life, which book would you choose?
That’s a hard question, I love so many books but if you insist on one, then it would have to be Wuthering Heights. It has everything. It is the perfect book, with so much passion and hatred. The characters are unforgettable. I remember reading it as a teenager. I read it in one session, I could not even eat.
Which story do you wish you had thought of first?
I would love to have written Jane Eyre, the ultimate romance. To have been the first to have written that book – it has everything: romance, mystery, suspense and passion. (Erin Russell)

And we would like to add that it has even more things. Because we are still trapped in that Jane-Eyre-is-only-for-girls sort of thing, as evinced by this article in the Sequim Gazette.

When recommending books for girls, [Sequim Middle School librarian Jo Chinn] says “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte is a top choice. For boys, Chinn has read every sports book in the library to better recommend titles. (Matthew Nash)

We are very sorry to say this, but that is one certain way of not expanding children's horizons. As we have seen, shown and repeated here on BrontëBlog time and time again a good many boys like Jane Eyre. And if more boys/men don't appreciate or even read the novel is because it's constantly being tagged 'for girls'. Men in the Brontës' times were shocked by Jane Eyre and even found it 'coarse'.

Then things like this happen:

In all, Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt has 731 customer reviews [on Amazon] as of today. To contrast, there are only 572 reviews for “Wuthering Heights.” (Kevin Wilson from Freedom New Mexico)

If Wuthering Heights is marketed 'for girls only' then that is not surprising: a classic book will have less reviews than a T-shirt.

The Times continues suggesting getaways, such as the five best canal holiday routes:

LEEDS-LIVERPOOL CANAL
Running across the Pennines, this waterway has some steep flights of locks but re-pays the work involved with glorious scenery.
Running between the two cities of its name, this canal is the longest in Britain, so holidaymakers tend to pick a section to explore. Perhaps the best plan is to start from Skipton, “Gateway to the Yorkshire Dales”, You can head east through the Bronte Country around Keighley and on to Bingley. Or west through rugged Dales scenery to Barnoldswick. (Terry Ramsey)

A couple of blogs today: Ramblings & Writings reviews Jillian Dare and Margaret Muir posts briefly about Pilot.

Categories: Brontëites, Haworth, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Music, Theatre, Weirdo, Wuthering Heights

Oakwell Hall to host Wuthering Heights exhibition

The Huddersfield Daily Examiner has interesting news:

AN exhibition about Wuthering Heights is to be staged at one of Kirklees’ most popular tourist attractions.

Now the appeal has gone out to people in the area to help.

The event at Oakwell Hall in Birstall will be held to coincide with the TV screening later this year of a new adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic love story.

In the meantime, museum officers are appealing for the public to get in touch if they can offer any Wuthering Heights memorabilia for the exhibition.

The latest adaptation of Brontë’s novel was filmed partly at Oakwell Hall last summer by production company Mammoth Screen.

The Elizabethan manor house closed for four weeks for filming, rooms were redressed and car parks filled with film crews.

Stars on set included Sarah Lancashire, Andrew Lincoln – of Teachers and This Life fame – Band of Brothers actor Tom Hardy as Heathcliff and newcomer Charlotte Riley as his lover Catherine Earnshaw.

Wuthering Heights is one of the biggest productions Oakwell Hall has seen, despite the Nutter Lane museum being used as a film set in the past.

In the 1920s it was used for a silent movie version of Charlotte Brontë’s novel Shirley.

The hall was used as the basis for Fieldhead in Shirley by Brontë when she wrote the book in 1849.

Oakwell Hall also appeared as a location in ITV drama Lost In Austen last September.

The Wuthering Heights exhibition will include items connected to the filming of Wuthering Heights 2009, as well as memorabilia from other productions and books.

Museum officers have photos and props from the filming, scripts, the mock-up wooden panel where Heathcliff and Cathy carved their names.

But they are appealing to the public for more items – such as Kate Bush’s 1970 single Wuthering Heights, or memorabilia from the 1990s West End musical Heathcliff, starring Cliff Richard.

Anyone who wants to contribute items to the exhibition should contact Simon Skelling at Kirklees Museums and Galleries on 01484 223803.

So, if you have Wuthering Heights memorabilia do be kind and loan it to them. If not... well, if not don't miss the exhibition when it opens!

Categories: Art-Exhibitions, Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights

The Heights by Brian James - A review

We are very grateful to Feiwel & Friends for sending us a review copy of this book:

The Heights
Brian James
feiwel & friends

Published: May 2009
Grade Range: 7 and up
Age Range: 12 and up
ISBN: 978-0-312-36853-1
ISBN-10: 0-312-36853-4
Young Adult Fiction
Trim: 5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches
256 pages

The Heights by Brian James is defined by the publishers as a contemporization of Wuthering Heights adapted for young adult readers. But true as they are, both publicity-oriented definitions they have to be qualified.

The contemporization should not be understood as retelling of the original story with settings, situations and dialogues updated to the current trends. As a matter of fact, Brian James is quite careful not to date the action too much. There are no references, or just general ones, to computers, internet or mobile phones. The language is simple, direct, modern but not particularly 'dated' (the use of slang is minimum). Nevertheless, reiterations abound and its style cannot be described as an example of narrative economy⁽¹⁾.

The Yorshire moors are exchanged for the foggy San Francisco in, what is probably, one of the biggest deviations from the original novel by The Heights. The isolation and the desolate and vastness of the Yorkshire landscapes are an integral part of the action and the psychologies of the characters and not easily translated to the the steep streets of San Francisco or the Golden Gate⁽²⁾.

Brian James also introduces several changes in the narrative of the original novel. Not least of them is the absence of a Lockwood-like figure transposed here in the inner voices of both Heathcliff, Henry in The Heights, and Catherine to alternatively expose the facts. Sometimes taking the narrative where the other leaves it, sometimes both narratives overlapping and complementing themselves (not in a Rashomon-like kind of way, though). Nelly, the other interposed narrator created by Emily Brontë, gets revamped as a sort of best-friend figure for the character of Catherine. No trace is left of Joseph, a certainly difficult character to bring to the 21st century. The original story is also modified, not only because the second generation is ignored, as in many other adaptations, but because not unsurprisingly Brian James centers his approach around the teenage years of the couple when he follows more closely the skeleton of the original story. Once the pivotal moment of Heathcliff's disappearance arrives, Brian James chooses a different path, exchanging the physical disappearance for a sort of psychological one, and from now on the novel gets a new impulse and wanders along more unforeseeable paths leading into a nonetheless predictable, but touching, moment⁽³⁾.

The main changes, nevertheless, as compared to Emily Brontë's creation are not in the plot, copious as they are, but in the main characters' psychologies. It should not be forgotten that this is a YA novel and, as the author himself states

"In my opinion, [Heathcliff's] character was certainly the major component of the book that needed updating. Sympathy for Heathcliff's character need to run deeply throughout the book."

A conclusion that probably Charlotte Brontë herself would have bought⁽⁴⁾. Therefore, Henry's differences are not only cosmetic (he is of Mexican origins for instance) but they run much deeper instead. Giving him a voice, Brian James humanises him, gives him an almost poetical voice and the violence and thirst of revenge shown in the original Wuthering Heights are quite diluted even though he mistreats Isabelle and ignores Cathy's pleas, he is no match for the hanging-puppies original Heathcliff. A similar treatment is given to Catherine. The original unstable, spoiled brat is exchanged in favour of a highly likable character. Her motivations to choose Edgar over Henry are much more pristine and logical that the capricious Cathy's attachment to Linton. Obviously, Brian James is aware that without a character with which his readers can identify, the novel would fail (and The Heights doesn't fail). Concerning the other characters, Hindley shares the same characteristics of the original one, Edgar is far more likable than the original Linton, Isabelle is not so lucky and gets from Brian James the same treatment (or worse) that Emily Brontë applied to the original Isabella.

Finally, a consideration about the verisimilitude of the story. If--notice the conditional--this were a 'realistic' novel addressed to a general audience, we would complain about the unrealistic portrait of drugs and sex in the general context of middle-high class West Coast teenagers⁽⁵⁾ but concerning the audience to which the book is addressed, young adult readers, the contention of Brian James is praiseworthy. Novels with such a specific target should take these issues very seriously and the author is highly aware of it.

Notes
(1) For example, the reader is reminded ad nauseam of how much Henry considers that Catherine and him are meant to be and of the cosmical bound that links them together.
(2) Nevertheless the author justifies his election convincingly here.
(3) But the final coda (the epilogue) is quite an anticlimax in the opinion of this reviewer.
(4) "Whether it is right or advisable to create beings like Heathcliff, I do not know: I scarcely think it is." (Charlotte Brontë, Editor's Preface to the New Edition of 'Wuthering Heights', 1850)
(5) Too tame in both cases.

Categories: Books, Review, Wuthering Heights

Asian Brontës

The Journal (Newcastle) has an article on Tamasha's Wuthering Heights as the production arrives in Newcastle tomorrow and runs until Saturday.

A BOLLYWOOD-style version of the Victorian classic Wuthering Heights transports Northern Stage to sunnier climes this week.
Gone are the bleak moors of Emily Brontë’s Yorkshire-set novel and, in their place, are the India deserts of Rajasthan.
The worst anyone can say is that this adaptation by British Asian theatre company Tamasha is different. The best is that it’s a refreshingly imaginative and daring venture that adds colour to the 1847 tale.
It’s all down to actor-turned-writer Deepak Verma, who came up with the idea in the first place.
And the version he’s written shows he dares to be different.
But then Brontë was daring in her day and her love story involving Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff – packed with cruel passions, vengeance and jealousy – was a bit of a shocker when it was published.
Deepak – who played EastEnders character Sanjay Kapoor for six years until 1998 – turns the famous main characters into the fiery Shakuntala (Youkti Patel in her professional stage debut) and Krishan (Pushpinder Chani) and sets them in Rajasthan, in the 1770s.
He saw a clear parallel, he says, between “the darkness of the moors and harshness of the desert. They’re unmerciful, unforgiving, relentless”.
To a large extent, he decided to free himself from the book and the 1939 film version starring Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier.
“As a writer you have to do that or else you stifle your creativity,” he explains.
“And I had to make a big decision about what part of the book to transfer.”
For him, Heathcliff, the anti-hero, was the key. Then he found parallels between Victorian England’s restrictive class hierarchy and Indian society’s taboos and the caste system.
“On a metaphysical level, it really fits into the Hindu belief in reincarnation, having a soul that leads through many lifetimes,” he says.
“That relates to Heathcliff’s beliefs.”
The religious servant Joseph, meanwhile, quotes the Koran instead of the Bible.
The musical’s designer, Sue Mayes,went to Rajasthan to research the set and costumes, and the show also draws from the history of Indian cinema, Rajasthani folklore and Indian classical music.
The result is a timeless work, developing into a big musical bonanza – with actors lip-synching to a pre-recorded score by classically-trained musicians in Bangalore and vocalists in London – and also featuring a sumptuous palace, even a camel racecourse, plus a surprise at the end.
Kristine Landon-Smith, co-founder of Tamasha and director of the show, said: “Bollywood is all about characters, unrequited love, death – big human emotions. I think in Brontë’s Wuthering Heights you get that and it makes a perfect marriage with a Bollywood treatment.
“Our show mixes sequins and saris with the power of a Victorian novel and it’s a family show.”
Tamasha enjoys interpreting literary classics through musicals and comedy – its past work includes the Olivier-nominated East Is East, later made into a film – so, for Deepak, the joint venture proved a meeting of minds.
The boss of his own film and TV production company Pukkanasha Films, he has more ideas of adding a twist to the traditional, such as a Jewish musical version of Hobson’s Choice, called Cohen’s Choice, and a reworking of Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 classic Rebecca.
Wuthering Heights opens at Northern Stage in Newcastle tomorrow and runs until Saturday. Visit www.northernstage.co.uk or call (0191) 230-5151. (Barbara Hodgson)

Still in the world of stage, China.org.cn announces that Wang Luoyong - a Chinese actor well-known in Broadway for his role in Miss Saigon - will become Mr Rochester in a Chinese production of Jane Eyre, written by 喻荣军 (Yu Rongjun).

"Jane Eyre", the novel had nothing to do with "Miss Saigon", the musical. That is not until Chinese actor Wang Luoyong returns to the theater stage next month.
Wang, who has been hailed as a "top Asian actor in Broadway" for leading the long-running musical "Miss Saigon" in 1990s, will play Jane Eyre's lover, Edward Rochester, in an upcoming Chinese theatrical adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's classic romantic novel.
Actress Yuan Quan will star as Jane Eyre.
The show, which will have a ten-day run at Beijing's National Center for the Performing Arts from June 19, is Wang's first theatrical effort in seven years.

Back to books, Blogger News Networks publishes a review of Jillian Dare by Melanie M. Jeschke, the first chapter of which can be read here.

Honestly, Melanie M. Jeschke did not do a great job of moderizing Jane Eyre, in my opinion. The old story was darkly romantic and heavy with mystery. This novel is not. While the characters are fairly well developed, and you do notice within the first 10 pages or so that this is the retelling of Jane Eyre, (the cover tells you that, too) it does not live up to expectations. The supporting characters are not developed well. They don’t have much depth and this detracts from the story, making the reader want to fill in a hole somewhere but you don’t know where the hole is.
I have a strong feeling that this is an editing problem, not the author’s problem because publishers these days don’t want to publish books with more than 97,000 to 100,000 words. Jane Eyre had 200,000 words or more and every single one of them was needed to progress the feel of story which is what Jane is all about.
Jane went to work in a dark and brooding household, whereas Jillian goes to work in a bright and airy mansion of a place. Jane feels closed in and almost oppressed by the mystery, and Jillian is merely puzzled. Jane is frightened and timid, but perserveres, Jillian is bold and health conscious, which is fine, but is a bit incongruous to the Jane Eyre tradition.
I know, Jeschke did not want to do a story exactly like the old one. I think she did a terrific job of creating a unique enough novel, which was definitely inspired by the old classic. I just think the atmosphere of the old would have lent itself very well to modernization, in fact it would have been even more gothic than gothic.
Bear in mind it is my opinion, but I give this one two stars. It is mildly interesting. Perhaps that is because the old classic was so tremendously good that the retelling of it falls rather flat. (Gina Burgess)

You will read BrontëBlog's review of Jillian Dare soon too.

The Guelph Mercury in the meantime warns us of the many dangers of falling in love in real life with a fictional character (!).

Whether it's James Bond, Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre, Nick Stokes from CSI or an actual actor, we all do it from time to time. There is nothing physically wrong with loving someone who is two-dimensional as long as the fine line between fantasy and reality can be seen. (Noorain Shethwala)

If you're in Lakewood, Ohio, then you may have a date with that Mr Rochester tonight and see if you can help falling for him. The Lakewood Public Library has a Knit and Lit evening centered around Jane Eyre, according to The Lakewood Observer.

Finally, the Halifax Courier has an article on Robin Hood and Calderdale. A couple of visitors to the area comment on its Brontë connections as well:

Barbara and David Lumb, of Hightown, Liversedge, also attended. Mrs Lumb said: "The estate is absolutely beautiful. This area featured heavily in Charlotte Bronte's novel Shirley, which I really enjoyed. (Suzanne Rutter)

There is also a more remote Brontë connection, as one of Patrick's brothers, James, on a visit to Haworth from Ireland, visited the area as well for its Robin Hood connections. Apparently he proved the legend that says that if you try the helmet that supposedly belonged to Robin Hood and is kept there you'll lose all your hair.

On the blogosphere, You're History! gives Villette 4 out of 5 stars, Ramblings-n-Writings reviews Jillian Dare and Renée's Book and Movie Reviews posts about Wuthering Heights 2009.

Categories: Alert, Books, Jane Eyre, Music, Shirley, Theatre, Wuthering Heights

Puppets and talks

Alerts for today, May 26, and tomorrow May 27:

1. At the Brontë Parsonage Museum:

There are puppet making workshops for children on Wednesday 26 May (bookings: 01535 640185). There will be a limited number of special, 2 for 1 vouchers available in the village, including the Tourist Information Centre, allowing one adult or child free admission to the museum when accompanied by another adult.

2. In Ormond Beach, Florida (and with a major blunder):

ENJOY ‘BOOK AND A MOVIE’ AT ORMOND BEACH LIBRARY MAY 26

The Ormond Beach Regional Library will offer “A Book and a Movie” at 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 26. After viewing a film, join our librarian for a book discussion of the Emily Bronte (sic) classic, “Jane Eyre.”
For more information, please call (386) 676-4191. The library is open seven days a week at 30 S. Beach St. (Source)

3. In Beaverton, Oregon:

Wednesday, May 27th @ 7:00PM Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd. (800) 878-7323

Classics Book Group

This month we meet to discuss Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. Join us!

Categories: Alert, Brontë Parsonage Museum, Jane Eyre, Wide Sargasso Sea

Cream tea and dandelion coffee

The Times suggests a few 'walks for the family', one of them in Brontë Country:

Brontë country
A great way to bring literature to life for your children. Start at Penistone Country Park and wander across the dramatic Yorkshire moors where the young Brontë sisters played. Many devotees head to the peaceful Brontë Waterfalls, where children can play safely, and carry on to Top Withens, a ruined farmhouse said to have been the inspiration for Wuthering Heights.Finish at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in the picturesque village of Haworth.www.visitbradford.com/bronte-country (Alice Miles)

Incidentally, though certainly not a walk, children (and adults too) might enjoy a ride on the famous Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, whose tours resume today according to The Telegraph and Argus.

Families climbed aboard a classic carriage and were served cream teas by a butler on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway yesterday.
Passengers sat in the UK’s oldest working railway carriage, the Victorian Old Gentleman’s Saloon. Famously used in the 1970 film The Railway Children, it was in action to give tours of Bronte Country. The 1871 wooden carriage, hauled by a Victorian steam locomotive, visited six stations, Haworth, Damems, Oakworth, Ingrow and Keighley, leaving Oxenhope station to the sound of a brass band playing on the platform.
The tours resume today, from Oxenhope at 11.45am, 1.15pm, 2.45pm and 4.15pm. Prices start at £12. (Ben Barnett)

A video can be seen here as well.

Speaking of the railway, The Old Foodie reminds us that,

On this day in 1849, the literary Brontë sisters Anne (1820-1849), Charlotte (1816-1855) and their friend Ellen Nussey travelled by train from their home in Yorkshire to the seaside town of Scarborough. Anne was ill with consumption, and as their brother Bramwell and sister Emily had both died of consumption within the previous year, she was under no illusions as to the seriousness of her condition. She decided to use her small inheritance to fund the trip, in the hope that the sea air would be beneficial. As soon as they arrived, the young women treated themselves to dandelion coffee, and bought season tickets for the spa and the famous Cliff Bridge. Sadly, it was too late for Anne, who was already very ill and frail, and she died in their lodging house only a few days later. [...]
Dandelion coffee was not a cheap alternative in the Bronte sisters’ time. It was a relatively expensive medicinal treat - which seems surprising given that the dandelion grows like a weed in Britain but the coffee bean is of course imported.

Quite interesting to read about the intriguing dandelion coffee. However, while we're at it, the beginning of the story is actually a little less straighforward. Ellen Nussey had agreed to meet Charlotte and Anne at Leeds station on May 23rd. She waited and they never turned up (though a coffin apparently did, and she got quite a fright). She went back home and on May 24th returned to the station and did find them - Anne looking shockingly ill. They decide to stop at York for the night (and some shopping) and them resumed the journey on May 25th, when they finally arrived in Scarborough and drank the dandelion tea in question.

An interesting piece of Brontë-related trivia is to be found on Commander Bond, which has an article on a documentary on Kevin McClory which is to be broadcast tonight in Ireland.

McClory was born in Dun Laoghaire in 1926. He was related to the English novelists, the Brontë sisters and his own life reads like an adventure story. (Devin Zydel)

The wikipedia entry on Mr McClory has a little more info on this:

McClory was born in Dublin. His grandmother, Alice McClory, was related to the Brontë family (Patrick Brontë's mother was a McClory).

We don't really know how many generations there are between Patrick Brontë and Kevin McClory, though. However, the name Alice seems to have run in the family as Patrick's mother is sometimes called Alice too (as well as Ayles, Eleanor and Elinor).

The New York Times reviews The Blue Hour: A Life of Jean Rhys by Lilian Pizzichini.

Rhys is the Caribbean-born writer who spent much of her life in Europe, personified the louche life in ways that have guaranteed her an everlasting cult following and stunningly amplified Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre” by writing one of the few great books hitched to an existing classic. That is “Wide Sargasso Sea,” a novel that envisions the story of the first Mrs. Rochester, the one locked in Mr. Rochester’s attic.
To see that among Ms. Rhys’s many alternate title choices for this classic were “Story of the First Mrs. Rochester,” “Le Rouge et le Noir” and “Wild Sea of Wrecks” is to understand how much of her renown may have been built on backhanded good fortune. “The Blue Hour” only furthers that impression. (Janet Maslin)

Western Mail carries an article on artist Gerald Scarfe who gave a talk yesterday at Hay Festival. A screen showed some of his cartoons, among which was...

Gordon Brown was depicted as Heathcliff on the hilltop, cape flying in the wind with the caption Dithering Heights. (Chris Haines)

This great cartoon can be seen here on the artist's website.

Organiser (India) reviews the book 100 Great Books, Masterpieces of All time, edited by John Canning, Rupa & Co, where Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are considered to be two of those 100 great books.

And the Examiner looks for the 'classical inspirations' behind the Twilight saga, Wuthering Heights among them.

On the blogosphere today, you can read about the novel Jillian Dare by Melanie M. Jeschke on Fiction Showcase and read the first chapter here. Jane Eyre, the novel which inspired it, is reviewed by Exclusively Books and Une curiosité de qualité (in French) and makes Szösszenetek (in Hungarian) wonder what would have happened had Rochester been younger than Jane. 5-Squared discusses Villette. And both Tales from a Café Chick and Le Troubadour Urbain (in French) post about Wuthering Heights.

Categories: Anne Brontë, Books, Haworth, Humour, Jane Eyre, Patrick Brontë, Wide Sargasso Sea, Wuthering Heights