A Serene Post

Theatre Reviews North and Liverpool Echo reviews Sally Cookson's Jane Eyre performances in Chester. Two very different reviews:

The story of Jane Eyre needs to be retold. It has inspired generations of women - and men, for that matter - to realise they shouldn't settle for second best, or to be content to accept a role that traps and limits their ambition. But such a detailed, descriptive novel is hard to replicate on stage, and while this production holds the attention of the audience throughout, it helps if a viewer has a working knowledge of the story beforehand.

This production of Jane Eyre is absorbing and draws out really well the stark treatment and difficult choices Jane encounters. It leaves an uncomfortable impression that what happens to her - and by extension, other people - needs to change. That, after all, is a reason we love theatre: to be entertained, of course, but also to be provoked and challenged. (Richard Evans)

I can't say I felt much chemistry between Jane and Rochester, although I have never really understood how the character of Mr Rochester is an attractive one.

A complex and flawed hero archetype of the 19th century, by today's standards many of his behaviours are a walking red flag. (...) 

While the set pieces for this adaptation are thoroughly modern, the language of the script remains true to the text. 

It's a stark contrast hearing Brontësque language while the cast is surrounded by glowing speakers blasting out Jane's inner narrative. (...)

The ends comes as abruptly as the start, Jane and a badly injured Rochester clinging to each other as the stage falls dark - the audience hesitant to start applauding in case there is more to come.

This is a bold adaptation of a much-loved classic, but it moves at such a pace you barely feel like you have time to build an affection for the characters. 

And while Gabriel Akuwudike is superb as the brooding Rochester, I once again found myself thinking that Jane - who is one of literature's famously strong-willed, independent, and resilient women - could do far better than him. (Cheryl Mullin)

The Manchester Evening Post praises he wonders of Haworth:

 Fans of the literary heroines can visit the Brontë Parsonage Museum, where the family lived and see its impressive collection of furniture, clothes and their personal items. It is here that they wrote classics including Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. 

On a clear day, many walkers and literary enthusiasts head out onto the moors to visit Top Withens, a ruined farmhouse near to Haworth which is said to inspire the Wuthering Heights house. It lies on the Pennine Way and it is a challenging walk located four miles from the village, but worth it for the breathtaking views. 

Also tucked away in the moorlands of Haworth is the Brontë waterfall and Bridge, which offer fans an escape into the rugged landscapes that inspired the sisters. This serene post was known to be one of their favourites. (Jenna Campbell)

Essex Echo explores local people who inherited fortunes from distant relatives:

People have long dreamed of inheriting a fortune from a long-lost relative, just like Jane Eyre, who receives £20,000 from an unknown uncle—and it happened more often than you might thin. (Emma Palmer)

Últimas Noticias (Venezuela) explains the origins of the 48-episode Cumbres Borrascosas 1976 culebrón.

La gerencia de dramáticos había decidido sacar adelante una nueva versión televisada del clásico de la literatura Cumbres borrascosas, la obra más aplaudida de la autora inglesa Emily Brontë, a la cual le apostaron fuerte, asignándole la adaptación a Delia Fiallo, quien ya había probado, con elevados índices de audiencia, su talento para atrapar televidentes.

El siguiente paso fue encomendar el personaje principal masculino a José Bardina, la estrella del canal que había saboreado un éxito tras otro, de la mano de la misma escritora, haciendo pareja con Marina Baura, Lupita Ferrer y Rebeca González.

Para completar la dupla protagónica, los productores escogieron a Elluz Peraza, quien ya había hecho algunas cositas como animadora en VTV y había debutado como actriz en Balumba, junto a Bardina y a Marianella Salazar, en una de las pocas incursiones de la periodista, en el campo del histrionismo.

El tercer vértice del triángulo amoroso lo asumió Judith Castillo. En este caso, Venevisión hizo valer el contrato que la chica había firmado con el canal como reina de belleza. Vale comentar que, al cabo de unos meses, la joven introdujo una demanda al sentir que el sueldo percibido (mil bolívares de la época) no se correspondía con la cantidad de compromisos que debía cumplir. Logró reducir los tres años del acuerdo.

El elenco quedó constituido por América Alonso, Caridad Canelón, Eduardo Serrano, Eva Blanco, Haydée Balza, Henry Galué, Humberto García, Ivonne Attas, Judith Castillo, Martín Lantigua, Mary Soliani y Raúl Xiqués, todos dirigidos por Grazio D’Angelo, en las grabaciones realizadas en La Colonia Tovar.

Una vez escogido el tema Beyond the Forest de Max Steiner, Cumbres borrascosas fue estrenada el 8 de noviembre de 1976, a las nueve de la noche. Duró 48 capítulos. (Orlando Suárez) (Translation)

Paese Italia (Italy) interviews the cast of the Gianni Clementi adaptation of Wuthering Heights  that returns to the Sala Umberto in Roma next week. A pointless Brontë mention in the title of an article in  Irish Mirror. Alfemminile (Italy) lists Jane Eyre among several other immortal love stories.