A new production of April de Angelis
Wuthering Heights adaptation opens today, June 17 in Plymouth:
Western College Players presents
Wuthering HeightsAdapted by April De Angelis, Directed by Jill Nicholas
The Drum
Theatre Royal Plymouth
Tuesday 17–Saturday 21 June 19.45 PM
This summer Western College Players Theatre Company present an exciting new production of Emily Brontë’s classic, tragic and haunting romance.
Set on the Yorkshire Moors, Wuthering Heights is the story of a seemingly innocent childhood infatuation that becomes a passionate and destructive obsession. Thus leading to a bitter and violent quest for revenge – spanning generations – and threatening to destroy all that stand in its way.
One of literature’s most loved novels; Wuthering Heights is an unforgettable piece of theatre.
“The adaptation uses Lockwood, who moves to the moor, and Nelly, the servant, to narrate some of the story,” says Jill.
“It’s a modern adaptation which is good because ‘box’ stage sets are becoming dated now.
“It meant Cliff Appleby, our designer, and I could come up with very simple staging with only a couple of side flaps.”
The greatest challenge for the production, though, was to get the right actors in place.
“It has to be extremely well cast because people know the book and the characters so well,” says Jill.
“Gareth Roberts, who plays Heathcliff, is tall and dark and Kathryn Anderson, who is Cathy, is just right.
“They are so well suited.”
Other key roles are taken by Bella Stebbings (Nelly) and Tony Giles (Lockwood) with Ben Kennedy-Day as Edgar, who catches Cathy’s eye.
Jed McLoughlin plays the young Heathcliff. Kathryn Anderson finds herself with two parts as she takes the role of Cathy’s daughter, too – which the director freely admits presented another challenges in the early days of rehearsals.
“We have a few people doubling up in roles,” says Jill.
“I had to get my head round that at first, because the book is so clear and vivid.”
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