Scottish Brontës

The Aberdeen Press and Journal announces the opening of Polly Teale's Jane Eyre at Perth Theatre (Scotland):

A THEATRICAL adaptation of the Charlotte Bronte classic Jane Eyre opens at Perth Theatre today.
The Horsecross Arts production is based on Polly Teale’s stage adaptation of Jane Eyre and centres on the idea that there is more to Jane than her sensible exterior.
Her more passionate nature reveals itself once she arrives at Edward Rochester’s house to take up the post of governess to his daughter Adele.
The production combines music and dance and is directed by Ian Grieve.
Mr Grieve said: “With Jane Eyre, we are embracing a range of skills and storytelling techniques that have introduced the theatre team to some new and exciting ways of working.
“Hopefully, what we have created will enthral Perth theatre-goers in the execution as much as it has thrilled us in the preparation, capturing, for stage and for a modern audience, the intensity and passion of Bronte’s work.”
The production brings a number of new faces to Perth Theatre.
Kath Duggan plays Jane, Vanessa Cook plays Bertha, Vari Sylvester is Mrs Reed, Hywel Morgan is Brocklehurst, Kate Cooley and Rachel Entwhistle are Abigail and Bessie.
Rochester is played by Tom McGovern and the production also features Perthshire teenager Beth Duncan, who is making her professional stage debut as Adele.
Jane Eyre runs at Perth Theatre from Friday until March 20.
Tickets are available from the Horsecross Box Office on 01738 621031 or by visiting http://www.horsecross.co.uk/

And another Brontë-related production will be in Scotland soon, but in Edinburgh this time. Northern Ballet's take on Wuthering Heights, as The List says.

There are no shortage of love affairs in the annals of English literature, but few burn with the passion of Cathy and Heathcliff. The tragic hero and heroine of Emily Brontë’s 19th century novel Wuthering Heights have been lifted from page to stage and small screen many times over the years. And now, courtesy of Northern Ballet Theatre (NBT), that tumultuous relationship is being brought to life through dance.
Choreographed by NBT’s artistic director, David Nixon with an emotive score by Claude-Michel Schönberg (of Les Miserables and Miss Saigon fame), Wuthering Heights the ballet ends mid-way through the novel, after Cathy’s death. It’s an emotional scene – especially when the dancers involved are real-life partners, as California-born Martha Leebolt discovered when she played Cathy opposite her boyfriend Christopher Hinton-Lewis in 2009.
‘It was awesome,’ recalls Leebolt. ‘At the end when Cathy is dying on the bed, it was just so sad. We were both crying and really in the moment, and I remember thinking we’d better make sure we make that last lift!’ Due to Leebolt incurring an injury, the couple were only able to perform ten shows together – and sadly, now that’s she’s fit again, Hinton-Lewis has suffered a similar fate. But as Leebolt says, no matter who plays Heathcliff, ‘when the music and choreography come together, you can really feel it, even if you’re not dancing with your real partner.’
For Leebolt, taking on the role of the strong-headed but loving Catherine Earnshaw has been a fantastic challenge. ‘I really love the character,’ she says. ‘She’s not just a normal romantic heroine, it’s like playing two characters in one show because her personality is so wide ranging. There are good and bad points about her as a person, but as a role to play for two hours it’s pretty exciting.’
Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Thu 11–Sat 13 Mar (Kelly Apter)

The Khaleej Times interviews Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor:

Your take on love.
I believe in it and love reading Wuthering Heights again and again. The ideal man for me is someone like Clarke Gable in Gone With The Wind or Darcy in Pride and Prejudice with his passion and dry sense of humour. I like men who have a politically incorrect sense of humour.

Heathcliff definitely has a politically incorrect sense of humour.

Willamette Week reviews the latest Alice in Wonderland and mentions Jane Eyre, though not in connection to Mia Wasikowska's future project.

Like the writers of the recent Sherlock Holmes movie, Disney scribe Linda Woolverton takes a beloved fish and fries it up with the greasiest English nationalism. While Sherlock became a sadistic mix of Oscar Wilde and James Bond, Alice has grown into the female equivalent, Jane Eyre as The Woman Who Would Be King. She flees from an arranged marriage into the Wonderland she forgot. (Alistair Rockoff)

A couple of blogs for today: Imagin 'Erre writes about Jane Eyre in French and Reina de Hielo writes about Wuthering Heights in Spanish.

Categories: Brontëites, Dance, Jane Eyre, Theatre, Wuthering Heights