'Fresh and imaginative'

More reviews of Genesian Theatre Company's production of Jane Eyre today. From Theatre Travels:

Director Ali Bendall has created a production that celebrates the historic nature of the original novel whilst bringing this into a modern world; utilizing fourth wall breaks and addressing the audience as “Dear Readers” to really draw audiences into Jane’s perspective. Whilst not all parts of Bronte’s original novel will resonate with modern audiences, the spirit of Jane and her resilience, independence and compassion shines through. Orphaned as a baby, we follow our narrator Jane as she struggles through her loveless childhood, her time at Lowood School - an institution for orphans - and the death of her young friend, before she sets off in the world to become a governess at Thornfield Hall. It is here where she learns how to love and begins to truly live…but mystery shrouds the hallways of Thornfield Manor, threatening to undo both Jane and the man she grows to love.

Kyra Belford-Thomas was completely engaging as the titular Jane, able to spout off reels of dialogue and move seamlessly between Jane’s addresses to the audience of her inner thoughts. She did a magnificent job of playing Jane as a child and then transitioning to an adult Jane, retaining her youthful spirit and passion which was then carried throughout the entire show.

For me personally, I would have preferred some cuts to the first half of the production, as the energy and tension of the piece really clicked when Mr Rochestor appeared and he and Jane began facing off. Vincent Andriano was a clear standout as the compelling yet brooding Mr Rochester. Andriano has an incredible stage presence as well as a lovely emotional range and he perfectly embodied the peculiar, dark charm of Thornfield’s master. Andriano and Belford-Thomas’ chemistry was another highlight of the production, wherein you found yourself rooting for them, despite all the darkness lurking within Thornfield.

The ensemble perfectly rounded out the production; the sheer size of the cast was most apparent in the orphanage scenes and overall each actor inhabited all the characters of Jane’s world with enthusiasm and commitment. Jenny Jacobs was a joy to watch as Mrs Fairfax, as was Rhiannon Jean as Bertha, who managed to capture the sinister yet heart-wrenching nature of Rochestor’s secret wife, before doubling as the utterly compelling yet utterly odious Blanche Ingram.

 Despite having a 3 hour run time, I must admit the pacing of the production worked well and the energy of the actors meant that it never felt like it dragged too long. There were a few clunky moments of staging; however for the most part Bendall utilized every inch of the Genesian available to the actors in creative and imaginative ways. Trap doors, hidden doors, actors coming out into the audience, playing with staging where the ensemble's hands became a  bookcase - all these elements worked to create an entirely immersive and engaging production. 

The set itself was completely paired back and Tom Fahy’s set design worked well to both emphasize the starkness of the Victorian era and to draw attention to the architectural elements of the theatre itself. For a play so deeply rooted in religious imagery and religious morals, it was a really clever choice to highlight and draw attention to the architecture of the church as almost a character of the play. Instead of hiding the stained glass windows, these become a focal point of the production, ever looming and used to represent a variety of moods. This worked in tandem with Cian Bryne’s lighting design, which, despite a few interesting choices, perfectly conveyed moments of tension and also moments of peace - playing directly into the Gothic horror nature of the story.  One of the loveliest moments was when sunset came through the stained glass to bathe Jane and Rochester in its glow. 

In fact, all the production elements worked closely to create the world of ‘Jane Eyre’ and all the creative team should be commended, with a special mention to Susan Carveth’s costume design. Some of the music choices seemed at odds with the time period/overall mood of the piece but these moments were mostly in the first act. The final moments of the play are completely joyful and bubbling with delight, as the characters break free from the darkness of the Gothic horror genre and Jane is finally “rewarded” for her years of suffering and her dedication to holding fast to her morals. (Grace Swadling)

From CityHub:

Director Ali Bendall also wrote this adaptation, and it is an absolute joy; fresh and imaginative while still preserving the essence of Brontë’s original novel. Bendall has reduced a very dense story into a dramatic work whose central characters have depth and a full arc, and whose narrative is epic but not burdensome. 

Jane Eyre is written in the style of a Bildungsroman, that is, it traces the moral and psychological development of its protagonist from youth through to adulthood, usually with that character finding enlightenment or redemption. The narrative is told in the first person by Jane Eyre herself. 

As you can imagine, the stage role of Jane is a hearty one, requiring a performer with good instincts, plenty of stamina, and natural rapport with cast and audience. Enter Kyra Belford-Thomas. 

Belford-Thomas holds the room in her thrall from the moment she takes the stage to her well-deserved curtain call. Confidently speaking witticisms in a Northern English accent, assuming a posture of defiance, and presenting a personality that is much taller than Jane’s diminutive physical stature, Belford-Thomas handles the critical role with mastery. 

Almost equally important is the role of Rochester, Jane’s love interest. Vincent Andriano steps into the tall riding boots of Rochester with aplomb and a kind of gruff charisma. Andriano and Belford-Thomas have great chemistry and spar like a classic 1940s Hollywood comedy duo. 

Julia Grace is delightfully whimsical as young Adele, Rochester’s ward, ever leaping and twirling in ballet slippers. Genesian favourite Jenny Jacobs is a warm, likeable Mrs Fairfax. In a handful of appearances as the bitter, spiteful Mrs Reed, Roslyn Hicks is stunningly affecting, inspiring both antipathy and pity. 

The remaining cast play multiple roles, and all are excellent. Worth special mention is Rhiannon Jean’s Blanch Ingram, whose comically repugnant personality and grating cackle never failed to evoke laughter from the audience. 

The set design by Tom Fahy and Bendall comprises a large wooden structure with stairs and platforms occupying most of the lateral and vertical stage area. It gives a rustic ambience as well as cleverly facilitating different settings without need to change the set. 

In a fine homage to the little church theatre, the back wall of the stage (which is actually the front of the church) is fully exposed, showcasing three beautiful stained glass windows and the original brick wall. 

Cian Byrne helps establish transitions in time and place with clever lighting. Byrne’s sound design incorporates modern folk-pop songs that add an interesting dimension to the whole aesthetic. 

Bendall’s direction is spot on. The characters are credible and interact well with each other; the comedy is perfectly delivered; the ensemble pieces are well choreographed. 

This is truly a magnificent production, a suitable finale to the Genesian company’s residence at the little old church in Kent Street. Don’t miss the opportunity to experience both this production in this theatre. (Rita Bratovich)

Berkeley Beacon has an opinion column on Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights.

Whether Fennell is good or bad at making movies is a completely different conversation. The visuals knock it out of the park, but often the message of the movie, when presented through the dialogue, is more of a miss. It seems her writing is on the weaker side of her abilities. 

 But honestly … has Fennell even read the book? Unlike her previous films, it doesn’t feature any bathtub-slurping, hot nerds in glasses like Barry Keoghan. There aren’t any sexy nurse costumes for revenge-seeking baristas to wear. “Wuthering Heights” has its charm, but with Fennell’s reputation for neon and cheetah print, along with her inability to write convincing dialogue for the poorly developed characters, I have very little faith. Listen, I know she won a screenplay Oscar for “Promising Young Woman,” but I doubt she’s up for something as renowned as a Brontë novel. 

 And let’s talk about the casting. If you’re someone like Fennell, who may or may not have actually read the book, Elordi is the obvious answer for this role. After “Saltburn,” when him … doing stuff in a bathtub was well received by viewers, it makes sense for Fennell to think of him for her next project. 

However, Elordi, an Australian man of European descent, isn’t exactly the spitting image of Brontë’s description of Heathcliff. While Brontë kept his race ambiguous, most people regard Heathcliff as a person of color. Throughout the novel, his brooding personality is emphasized by his appearance, described as having dark skin, eyes, and hair that supposedly contrast his “gentlemanly stature.” He is often nicknamed as a castaway or a lascar (defined as a sailor from the Southeast Asian region). 

Along with these examples, the period in which Brontë sets this story is during the Liverpool Slave Trade; Liverpool was one of the leading slave ports of Britain in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Heathcliff notably meets Mr. Earnshaw in Liverpool, which further leads many to gather he is of non-white descent. He’s been theorized to be Indian, African, Asian, or of mixed race. 

Robbie is beloved by many film fanatics after her extensive career as an actress, but if she is right for this role is also up for debate. Catherine is supposed to be dead before she turns 20. It’s not that women past their thirties don’t have their place in acting, but seeing that Robbie and Elordi are some of Hollywood’s biggest stars right now, it kind of feels like Fennell put Google’s most popular acting names in a hat and cast her movie by drawing out of it. Timothee Chalamet and Florence Pugh, better luck next time. Maybe you’ll get “Jane Eyre.” 

 The negative reaction to Fennell’s adaptation isn’t surprising to me. White-washing in movies is a common occurrence—take Elizabeth Taylor in “Cleopatra,” Ben Affleck in “Argo,” or Scarlett Johansson in “Ghost in the Shell.” Shouldn’t someone who has presented themselves as a cutting-edge filmmaker, like Fennell, at least cast their movie true to the story it’s based on? And truthfully, I don’t know if Fennell needs any more white people to play her leads. Among her two movies, exactly two people of color are in the main casts—both of which are relatively unimportant best friends of the main characters. Fennell has created her movies based on new, exciting, exotic eroticism, but loves to keep the same white celebrities in the middle of her stories. 

“Wuthering Heights” movies have been historically ill-received; Andrea Arnold’s 2011 adaptation has a 68% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, bringing in $1.7 million from a $5 million budget, along with the director herself expressing her own distaste for how the film turned out. Peter Kominsky’s 1992 version of the story has an even worse rating, currently sitting at 31%. Along with other poorly received versions—that I hadn’t even heard of before this week—it’s obvious that this movie is tricky to get right. 

With the movie not set to start filming until 2025, Fennell could still take it somewhere unexpected; we don’t know the whole story behind her casting decisions. It’s not that Elordi and Robbie aren’t talented, it’s just that this announcement is giving off more “money-grabbing” vibes than an actual passion for filmmaking and honoring one of literature’s most famous stories. For now, all we have to look forward to is the Jacob Elordi TikTok edits. (Helen Armstrong)

Far Out Magazine has selected 'Five songs that show off Kate Bush’s unmatched vocals' and one of them is obviously

‘Wuthering Heights’

It would be impossible not to include Kate Bush’s debut, the soaring ‘Wuthering Heights’ on this list. Released in 1978, the song introduced us to the wondrous world of Bush, the magic she wields each time she sits behind a piano, her literary approach to songwriting, and the wandering vocals that would become her trademark. The track borrows its story from the Emily Brontë novel of the same name, but Bush makes it entirely her own.

Over twinkling keys and sonic shimmers, Bush pushes her vocals to impossible heights, her wails encapsulating all of the emotions of Heathcliff and Cathy without ever losing control. The song immediately showed off Bush’s ability to tell a story through her vocal delivery and her ability to climb further up the scale than any of her pop peers. It also set her success into motion, becoming the first self-penned song by a woman to hit number one in the United Kingdom. (Elle Palmer)

BBC Radio Leeds has a six-minute clip on 'the haunted chair of Branwell Brontë in the Black Bull pub in Haworth'. Jane Eyre's Library shows an edition of Jane Eyre from Bangladesh.