Teenage approach to the Brontës

A letter to the editor of the Owen Sun Times praises the recent production of Jane Eyre the Musical by the Youth Theatre Coalition in Ontario.

May 22 was the final performance of the Youth Theatre Coalition's production of Jane Eyre: A Musical Drama played at the OSCVI for four nights with a matinee before the closing.
Those of us who have seen their first production (Cinderella) in the fall, were not surprised by the professionalism with which all aspects of the show were handled.
Being amateurs gave them a power that is often lost in this business -- they were pure, full of hope, and put their souls into each performance, not daunted by the low audience turnout. Their performances were based on the essence of what acting should be -- the ability to engage the audience's imagination into believing the story through one's acting ability using only the most necessary props, sets, sound and lighting effects, for emphasis and symbolism. (Unfortunately, all too often we find that today's performing arts depend on extravagant sets and technological wizardry for shock value and that if these would be stripped away nothing would be left.)
I am not writing merely to thank this dedicated young group for a work that could be envied by many professional companies, but specifically to let them know how very proud I am of them that they picked a gem mostly only known by their grandparents' generation, kept "faith", and "forgave" us each night for the waves of empty seats before them.
This production was much harder to put on, since the two months nightly rehearsals were during the most strenuous school period (when most testing is done and projects are due). To raise funds for this production they put on a dinner theatre in the middle of all this with completely different material.
For those who have not heard of them before, I have to mention that this group completely consist of tweens and teens from cast to producer, who have taken the initiative to materialize their dreams by forming a company for youth 10-20 years old (adult involvement is only as mentors). Credit is due, for they have chosen a good path from among all the enticing highways and byways; one that in today's world is "less traveled" unfortunately, but could be changed by where we as the audience place our loyalties. (Beatrice Balogh Chatsworth)

The Times presents The Secret Diaries of Anne Lister like this:

These are the same early 19th-century Yorkshire moors as the Brontë sisters showed us, but through entirely different eyes.(Alex Hardy and David Hayles)

And more from the teen age group, as The Sydney Morning Herald chronicles 'A day in the life of Megan Lee, 17, a student at Danebank Anglican School for Girls, Hurstville'. Apparently, this is what occupies her time and mind at 9am:

9am: With 10 pages of possibly indecipherable writing on Romantic paradigms in Wuthering Heights handed in, and with stresses alleviated, I savour the few moments when year 12 seems completely conquerable.

A few French blogs are carrying out a readalong of Wuthering Heights: La pile à lire d'Hécléa, Les fleurs d'Avalon... And Il tempo di leggere, in Italian, participates in one organised on this reading group (starting today). Novel Blogging posts about Jane Eyre and Flamingo House Happenings writes about Rachel Ferguson's The Brontës Went to Woolworths.

Categories: Jane Eyre, Music, Theatre, Wuthering Heights