Vern Thiessen's Wuthering Heights

Vern Thiessen's adaptation of Wuthering Heights gets its premiere, next February 11 at the Red Deer College (Red Deer, Alberta, Canada):

RDC Theatre Studies Presents
WUTHERING HEIGHTS – by Vern Theissen
From the classic novel by Emily Brontë

Arts Centre Mainstage

EVENING PERFORMANCES - February 11 – 13, 17 – 20 7:30pm
WEEKEND MATINEES - February 13 & 20 1:00pm
SCHOOL MATINEES - February 17 & 19 Noon

Governor General Award winning playwright, Vern Thiessen, has been developing a play adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights for many years. The play has had many incarnations and was work -shopped at both the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton and at Red Deer College prior to going into rehearsal at RDC in January, 2010. Wuthering Heights will have its’ world premiere February 11 – 20, 2010 at the Red Deer Arts Centre and is directed by Lynda Adams with Narda McCarroll (set and lighting design), Carrie Hamilton (costume design), Kimberley Denis (live music/sound designer) and Morgan McKee (electronic music/sound composer).

Vern Thiessen’s adaptation captures the essence of Emily Brontë’s original story in a highly theatrical treatment in both writing style and production value suggestions. The story is further heightened by a filmatic style of scenes (over 36 short scenes) developing tension at every turn. Adding another layer to the story are the ghosts of Young and Teen Catherine, Heathcliffe, and Hindley and the inclusion of the visiting neighbour, Lockwood, who witnesses the story of Wuthering Heights, as it unfolds on stage.

History – the novel

Wuthering Heights was written by Emily Bronte and published in 1847 a year prior to her death. It was the only novel she wrote and has succeeded in becoming a classic piece of literature which has inspired many other writers, including Stephanie Meyers of today’s Twilight fame. Although Wuthering Heights provides a primitive plot: “boy meets girl; boy falls in love with girl; boy loses girl” – the writing treatment is incredibly sophisticated. As a matter of fact critics from that time either condemned the material citing it as too racy or, in contrast, thought that Emily Brontë was ahead of her time in concept, story structure and appeal. Charlotte Bronte wrote this of her sister, Emily’s, work:

“Wuthering Heights exemplifies the effects which a life of continued injustice and hard usage may produce a naturally perverse, vindictive and inexplicable disposition.”

The director, Lynn Adams, talks about the production here.

Categories: Theatre, Wuthering Heights