Exuberant Heights

Limelight gives 3.5 stars out of 5 to Emma Rice's Wuthering Heights:

Lovers of the novel may find themselves resisting initially, but it’s hard not to be swayed by the irreverence of Rice’s theatricality and the vigour of this touring cast of British triple threats.

Rice builds the world of the novel from the stuff of old-school, actor-powered playmaking. For example, when new tenant Lockwood (a dazzling Sam Archer in weekend farmer green wellies – a telling anachronism) arrives at Wuthering Heights determined to pay his respects to his new landlord, Heathcliff (John Leader), Rice conjures the storm in shrieking voices from performers side-of-stage, the force of the wind by actors plucking at Lockwood’s coat.

Scene changes become dances. Wuthering Heights itself is a door on wheels pushed around by cast and crew. Clouds scud across a video screen sky, but apart from that, the staging feels conspicuously lo-tech – certainly when compared to some other adaptations of classic novels we’ve seen on this stage in recent years. 

The Yorkshire moors are represented by a Chorus figure (played by the excellent Nandi Bhebhe), singing, wearing a crown of sticks and leading others in choreographed folk-dance inspired motion. The children of the story – including the young orphan Heathcliffe, adopted on the spot at Liverpool docks by the kindly Earnshaw (Thomas Fox) – are played by bunraku-style puppets.

Music is provided live by a guitar, bass and drums trio, augmented by actors playing accordion, conga and cello.

The sheer difficulty of translating a complex and sometimes confusing book to the stage is acknowledged in asides designed to keep the audience abreast of who’s-who (several characters share surnames) and who’s died.

The novel’s characters range from cheerfully spoofy (Rebecca Collingwood’s perky Isabella could have escaped an episode of Horrible Histories) to the serious. Cathy (Stephanie Hockley) is granted a rock concert moment, manufactured with an electric fan and a smoke machine (and topped with a mike drop).

Speaking in a Caribbean accent, John Leader’s Heathcliff glowers very effectively. Rice’s adaptation makes persuasive the idea that Heathcliffe’s sociopathic tendencies are rooted in the trauma of slavery. He alone is allowed to tap the power of stillness among a cast kept in near-constant motion.

The inventiveness of the production is delightful, the skill of the performers undeniable, but the exuberance does start to wear a little thin in the second half. The plays end, which sees the video screen turn a summery blue lets the accumulated sturm und drang of the last three hours to blow away too easily. (Jason Blake)

A contributor to Artshub gives it 3 stars:

It has an appeal, especially at first, but at some point, it starts becoming a little tiresome. For the live music aspect to really work, the songs have got to be great, not just passable. The repetitive refrain isn’t strong enough to function as the musical backbone of an almost three-hour show. 

There is also a sense of trying too hard to be different. A self-consciously ‘edgy’ approach to the source material is evident throughout. 

This extends to the set. The rollaway backdrops constantly moving around; chairs stacked high upon each other, in an off-kilter way, for no discernible reason (what’s with all the chairs in this production?); the appearance of puppets at one point for … well, apparently, just because. 

But there are positives – and some moments are great. When the soundtrack reaches its apogee and Catherine (Stephanie Hockley) goes full rock goddess, with wind in her hair and a mic drop, it’s electrifying. 

The cast are triple or even quadruple threats: all acting, dancing and singing, with T J Holmes (who plays Doctor Kenneth and the Moors) also playing the cello. 

Nandi Bhebhe as Leader of the Moors is fantastic. With flawless acting, a powerful voice and huge charisma, she almost steals the show. 

Archer as Lockwood/Edgar Linton/the Moors is another standout, especially for his physical dexterity; Robyn Sinclair excels as Frances Earnshaw/Young Cathy/the Moors; and John Leader has a gruff, brooding presence perfectly befitting the character of Heathcliff. 

Wuthering Heights is a convoluted tale. Between this fact and the doubling or even tripling up of roles for the actors, this adaptation could easily become confusing. Rice addresses this by having them carry blackboards with character names written on them in chalk as they enter the show. Said blackboards are also used to proclaim deaths (and there are many deaths in Wuthering Heights). 

It’s an effective device although whether it’s cringeworthy and a bit lazy or charming and quirky is up for debate. 

In that way, the blackboards are a good metaphor for the show and its capacity to elicit very different responses (perhaps even within the same person). 

At the end of the opening night performance, there were standing ovations, with some attendees applauding madly. But many remained down, clapping politely from their seats. Some sat with arms crossed after brief, perfunctory clapping, while a few walked out sans applause. There were no curtain calls. 

In the theatre, it’s said that audiences don’t lie. This audience was right on the money. (Peter Hackney)

Chicago Reader reviews Layne Fargo's The Favourites.

Given the darkness of Wuthering Heights, I was surprised—ultimately, pleasantly so—by the individual growth of Fargo’s characters and the downright wholesomeness of some moments. But Brontë acolytes can rest assured: there’s enough backstabbing by morally gray characters to convincingly transport this Gothic classic from the gloomy moors of England to the glaring lights of Olympic ice. (Emily McClanathan)

In The Wicksburg Post, a local librarian recommends The Brontë Sisters Collection.

First up is The Brontë Sisters Collection featuring Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë. Emily Brontë’s only novel, Wuthering Heights, is the story of Catherine Earnshaw who’s torn between passionate, tortured Heathcliff and gentle, well-bred Edgar. Her choice leads Heathcliff to heap vengeance on the next generation. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë tells the story of a plain, intelligent, and steadfast governess who finds herself tending the ward of the charismatic and moody Mr. Rochester. Their growing love is shattered by dark secrets from Rochester’s past. In Agnes Grey, Agnes’s father suffers professionally and withdraws from his family with a bout of depression. Agnes takes a position as a governess with a wealthy family to help her family financially. Unfortunately, the family she works for treats her cruelly and strips Agnes of her dignity and faith in humanity. (Evangeline Cessna)

Daily Mail suggests some more Austen adaptations after the new Miss Austen and one of them is Sanditon.

Based on Jane Austen's unfinished 1817 novel, it channels the spirit of Regency and Victorian writers, not just Austen, but there's a dash of the Brontes at play, too - especially when, in series two, heroine Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams) becomes governess to Alexander Colbourne (Ben Lloyd-Hughes), a brooding widower in the vein of Jane Eyre's Mr Rochester.