A resounding success

Palatinate reviews the stage production of Brontë at Durham University, giving it 4 stars out of 5.

Third Space Theatre Company’s iteration of Polly Teal’s [sic] Brontë is an entirely charming production that marks the end of another successful term of student theatre under the lights of the Assembly Rooms Theatre.  At its core, a number of excellent performances elevate the play into resounding success. [...]

Immediately striking is the beautifully designed stage that is fully fleshed out to create the Brontë’s home. All the wooden furniture is perfectly fitting; the back wall is filled with books and hung with pictures all to build up this domestic affair. Brightening this set is some lovely lighting, designed by Cassia Thurston, that is varied in both scope and colour, rising to the challenge of spotlighting characters entering down past the audience a number of times. Similarly, I thought the sound design, designed by Oliver Fitzgerald, backed up the more emotional moments very well, although I thought there needed to be a more noticeable fade for the end of effects so that music didn’t end quite so abruptly. Additionally, I really liked the costume design by Ellie Kinch as the three sisters are decorated in period-accurate dresses and three different colours to give them visually distinct appearances. 

However, the key to this performance’s success is undoubtedly the strength of the acting, which is consistently good across a cast of just seven actors. The dynamic between all three Brontë sisters is brilliant, with the most time given to fleshing out the bubbling tensions between Charlotte (Peony Reece) and Emily (Martha Buttle). The two play off each other very well with their frequent clashes constantly raising tensions and building the drama. I also enjoyed Jake O’Donnell’s performance as the domineering, and quite frankly scary, father figure who tries to keep the three girls in line; he is totally in control of his dynamic range the whole way through to establish authority. Similarly, Matthew Lo delivers wonderfully in his trio of roles, delivering an unexpectedly hilarious turn in the play’s climax. Nevertheless, the most committed performance comes in the form of Branwell Brontë, played by Jack Guilfoyle, who embodies this utterly detestable character before his downfall in the second half. 

I also thought there were a number of great directorial choices, under the watchful eye of Grace Graham, that contributed to the creation of this spectacle. Throughout the play, different characters suddenly switch into fictional characters from within the Brontë’s books and deliver lines in perfect unison with the sisters. The use of the three sisters as narrators at varying moments also works well, seamlessly switching from sister to narrator and back again. However, even if you are familiar with the Brontës’ fiction, it’s sometimes a little confusing when a character switches from a historical figure into a fictional one from their writing – although I think this is more a pitfall of the original script. I’d have also liked to see a little more consistency over accents, as the cast doesn’t seem unified over one specific accent choice. 

Nevertheless, the play builds towards a dramatic ending that pulls on the audience’s heartstrings as characters die – as in real life –  suddenly and unexpectedly. Branwell’s death scene in particular features a really touching choice that sees the sisters mourning at the front of the stage, as he acts out childhood fantasies on a chair in the middle of the stage, recalling the first half’s initial domestic bliss that has subsequently been shattered. 

Overall, the play is a resounding success through its balancing over excellent performances all-round with suitable directing choices that bring the Brontë sisters’ story entirely to life. The consistent standard set throughout all facets of the production really exemplifies what makes student theatre so brilliant in Durham. (Ralph Hargreaves)

Domus highlights '2026’s most anticipated TV series and films' including

Wuthering Heights — directed by Emerald Fennell

In theory, it is the classic, period costume version of Emily Brontë’s novel; in practice it is the first version of a great classic of female Romantic literature, directed and written by an openly feminist author (the one behind Promising Young Woman and Saltburn) in an era of role revision. You can already see this from the casting: the protagonist, Margot Robbie, is older (by seven years), more well-known, and more production-powerful than the male lead, Jacob Elordi. (Gabriele Niola)

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Charli XCX, ‘Wuthering Heights’

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In El Correo (Spain), Spanish writer Alicia Giménez Bartlett claims--in all seriousness--that out of all Victorian women writers, Jane Austen is her least favourite. Of course, because she wasn't Victorian now, was she?

Puestos a escoger, me inclino por las hermanas Brontë, biográficamente más interesantes, más rebeldes, más desmesuradas. Anne fue la menos conocida porque, tonta de ella, se dedicó a la poesía [??? !!!]. Luego viene Charlotte en mis preferencias. Su 'Jane Eyre' logra una descripción ajustada y certera de la sociedad de la época, con toques de humor más marcados que su colega Austen. Por último, la «loca de la casa»: Emily. Con sus 'Cumbres borrascosas' se marca un desmadre romántico gótico de mucho cuidado. También esta novela sigue gozando del favor de los lectores y los adaptadores a lo audiovisual. Es tan excesiva que resulta cautivadora. Sin duda, la más imaginativa de las tres. (Translation)