Another
National Theatre Live showing. I’ll admit – I watched this largely because it
was there and it was free. Even though I’m a fan of Jane Eyre, in addition to reading the book I’ve seen four film and/or miniseries adaptions of
the novel as well as a live performance of the musical (that score! Bestill my
heart!) Once I realized this was a play and not the musical, a little part of
me went, “Do I need to see another
verson of Jane Eyre?”, and if this
had been a cinema showing where I had to pay upwards of $20 to see it and
probably drive a minimum of 50 miles on a Tuesday evening or something, I doubt
I would’ve made the effort. But I’m so
glad National Theatre Live chose to put this out as part of their free series,
because it was incredible.
An
orphan abandoned by her cruel relations, Jane Eyre is raised and taught at the
brutal Lowood school, then becomes a governess at the august house of
Thornfield. As Jane teaches her young pupil, she can’t ignore a mysterious
presence in the house, or the way that she’s drawn to the brusque Mr.
Rochester, who challenges her intellectually.
To
reverse a phrase from Michael Scott, I love so much about the things this
production chooses to be. The set is at once minimal and expansive – there’s a
single set for the entire show, a representative stand-in for numerous locales
we never see, but it’s also multileveled, with ramps and stairs and ladders for
the cast to roam about on. Judicious lighting and ambient sound works wonders
on the sparse set, creating everything from the terrifying Red Room to a stormy
night on the moors. It’s not a musical, but interludes and critical scenes are
underlined by soloists with haunting voices.
The
cast is likewise small. Madeleine Worrall leads the proceedings as Jane, but
everyone else pulls double, triple, or quintuple duty on multiple roles – even
Felix Hayes, who plays Rochester, makes himself useful in the early childhood
scenes by filling in on a few small parts. And in addition to playing nearly
everyone not named Jane or Rochester, the small ensemble also helps to create
atmosphere, facilitates costume changes at key moments, and serves to voice
some of Jane’s inner, often contradictory thoughts. For instances, they’re the
ones who bully her into painting portraits of herself and Blanche. Also, I
appreciate that several roles are cast across gender (most notably St. John
Rivers, along with some of the girls at Lowood,) but it’s not at all commented
on or treated as a joke.
For
such an oft-adapted story, this is exactly the sort of production I needed, one
that’s daring and inventive that recreates familiar scenes in unexpected ways.
It reminds me of some of the best productions I’ve seen from tiny regional
theatres, where they don’t have the money or resources to go big and so they
instead pour all their energy into doing the show like you’ve never seen it
before.
But
for all that, it’s still every inch the story we know. It does it differently,
but all the emotions are still there. Much of this comes down to Worrall and
Hayes, who are splendid as Jane and Rochester, both separately and together. In
the story’s most intimate, iconic moments, the theatrical ingenuity falls away
and we’re left with two people falling in love, just as they have for nearly
200 years.
One
final note about Bertha. This is, naturally, a problematic characterization
that traces back to the original novel. From the perspectives of disability,
race, and gender, Bertha’s place in the story is an uncomfortable one. That
said, while this production doesn’t erase that discomfort, it does find a
creative way to somewhat alter her presence within the production as a whole. It’s
been more than a month now since I saw the Jane
Eyre recording (OMG, what even is time anymore?) and I’m still thinking
about this particular device, but to me, it serves as a small way of giving
Bertha a measure of her voice back.
Warnings
Violence,
oblique sexual references, thematic elements, and insensitive depictions of
mental illness inherited from its source material.
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