Conjuring spectres and seeing ghosts

Today marks the 170th wedding anniversary of Charlotte Brontë and Arthur Bell Nicholls.

Corr Blimey gives 4 stars out of 5 to the stage adaptation of Jane Eyre at the Botanic Garden in Glasgow.

McGregor’s year for Bard in the Botanics, starring in Jane Eyre and Measure by Measure later in the season, the casting is spot-on for Jane – a defiant streak amidst all the dour and glum goings on, with a determination not to allow this icy world to shake their integral core beliefs. The frequent shifts to illustrate what Jane sees before them, brilliantly spaced and staged by Dick, as the remaining cast lurch upwards to conjure trees or mountains, or hold themselves as a portrait subject, another piece of McGregor’s erudite performance.

In a brooding, ill-mannered, cut-them-and-they-bleed-red-corduroy performance, Johnny Panchaud’s Rochester is a virile match for McGregor – complimenting one another, solidifying the building connection. Even turning the lengthier monologues of Brontë’s exposition into rounded and engaging moments of characterisation and relationships – aided by the terrific, often haunting, sound design which incorporates the entire cast to provide embers, whistling winds, and the haunting laughter heard throughout Thornfield Estate. 

That and Stephen Arden’s sashaying around as Rochester’s French Ward. Arden (like many in the cast) occupies multiple roles; none better than the pious and icy St John Rivers, driven to leave Scotland for India and begin their work among the ‘uncivil’. Regular Byre Panto partner-in-crime Alan Steele has their regular array of character performances armed and ready as the touching tweeded ghillie, the shifting and cruel Mr Brocklehurst, and in their usual trademark panache as Blanche Ingram’s Mother: calculating and hysterical, bringing the expected cut of wit and comedy.

Balancing the additional comedic elements, Jane Eyre’s sound design and Heather Grace Currie’s uncanny backdrops, cold and still, stoke the embers of something more haunting than audiences may expect. Tinashe Warikandwa’s welcome presence reinforces much of this depth and harsh reality as Jane’s childhood friend Bessie. While providing a few other well-defined roles keeps them a stand-out amidst the cast. As does Trish Mullin, who flips from the stern and no-nonsense Grace Poole to the antithesis of the role in Rivers’ kinder, nurturing sister.

Perhaps a touch too faithful, Dick’s incarnation of the work never pushes that ambition beyond the established expectations. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, but with the additional elements of design at work here and the calibre of the ensemble giving their all, the prospect of what other avenues this Jane could have sketched out can’t help but tease the curious.

Jane Eyre seeks to conjure spectres and break shackles to offer a liberating experience, particularly for fans of the novel. In exploring its new Highlands landscape, Dick’s ‘an autobiography’ of Jane Eyre demonstrates just how different paths can be for women looking to sketch out their futures – and to remember the autonomy they have as the artist, no matter how imposing the subject may be. A solid, if straight-forward, take on Bronte, with a cut of the supernatural and a deep love for the Scottish landscape, Jane Eyre is bolstered by a strong cast and a leading role from McGregor. (Dominic Corr)

After the success of the My Lady Jane adaptation, Spoiler looks to the other books in the series.

The second volume was published in 2018 and was titled My Plain Jane. This time, it follows Jane Eyre in 19th century England, a governess who can see ghosts. It not only mixes elements from the original novel but also includes humor. (Ariadna Pinheiro)