Within These Wicked Walls (2021)

I read this supernatural YA novel last year, and I really loved it. It’s super compelling, both as a reimagining of Jane Eyre and as its own story. So great!

Andromeda is a young unlicensed debtera, trained to cleanse houses of evil spirits. She’s just gotten her first big job working in a house plagued by the Evil Eye. While Andi just wants to buckle down, do her work, and make her living, the mercurial owner of the house, Magnus Rochester, is charmed by her plain-spokenness and lack of flattery. As Andi finds herself oddly charmed by Magnus in turn, she tries to resist her feelings, wary of being toyed with by a wealthy man who could never genuinely care for her.

I really like how Jane Eyre is re-envisioned through an Ethiopian-inspired lens here. The original novel, of course, features horrors that are more psychological than supernatural, but I don’t mind the different direction that this book takes. I really enjoy learning about the nuts and bolts of Andi’s work as a debtera, the different challenges and dangers she faces, and how she goes about combatting the house’s many Manifestations. The mechanics of the curse are interesting as well, and we see how it’s shaped Magnus into the person he’s become.

Speaking of which, Andi and Magnus are both recognizably Jane and Rochester while still being very much their own characters. The way Andi can appear meek but doesn’t back down from speaking her mind, the way she’s become so accustomed to making her way in the world that she doesn’t always know how to accept help when it’s offered. The way Magnus’s curse has largely kept him away from the company of others and he’s grown irascible and blunt, the way he challenges Andi but sees it as enjoyable sparring rather than arguing. The dynamic between them very much scratches that Jane/Rochester itch—author Lauren Blackwood nails the feeling of their slowly growing romance. It’s clearly messed up in ways, even as the lure of it is intoxicating for both of them, and it leads them to palpable danger, but the way they come to understand each other is wonderful to read.

It's a small thing, but I also really like how the book interprets Kelela, the Blanche Ingram counterpart. She takes on a more interesting role and is just allowed to be much more of a person, rather than simply the woman standing in Andi’s way.

I don’t read a lot of horror, YA or otherwise, so I’m not the best person to gauge the level of horror here when it comes to the Manifestations. I certainly found different parts of the story pretty freaky, although there was nothing I personally couldn’t handle. There’s some excellent suspense and action, and Andi needs to call on her faith, her skill, her bravery, and her intelligence to do battle with the Evil Eye.

Warnings

Strong violence, disturbing images, drinking/smoking, and strong thematic elements (including child abuse.)

Jane Eyre (2015)

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.

Top Five Songs: Jane Eyre

This musical’s score floors me.  I think it’s gorgeous, and the way it adds melody and rhyme to the themes, and even some of the words, of the book might make it my favorite Jane Eyre adaptation I’ve encountered.  My favorite songs from the show are as follows (some spoilers.)

(Also, side note: I’ll admit that, when I was younger, I didn’t put much stock in the allegations against actor James Barbour, so it didn’t affect my love for the cast recording for quite a long time. In recent years, though, I’ve soured more on Barbour, which has turned me off listening to many songs featuring Rochester, but I’ll still sing them on my own regularly. I wish someone would revive this show so I could get a recording with a different cast.)

“The Orphan” – While “Sweet Liberty” later takes the same melody and turns it into a more triumphant number, this, at the opening of the show, introduces us to Jane as a character.  The lyrics splendidly paint a picture of all the anger inside Jane at the injustices she’s suffered, all the crimes of circumstance that conspire against her.  It’s just so badass – I love it.

Best lyric:  “And the lightning strikes inside her / As she looks to the sky. / And she pledges to spread her wings - / Through a hurricane she’ll fly.”

“As Good As You” – In this beautiful solo, Rochester tells Jane of his history with Adele’s mother, both his wild days and his heartbreak.  The nonchalance with which she passes Adele off to him is just staggering, and I love the final verse, with Rochester imagining how his life might have gone differently.  The melody is so perfect.

Best lyric:  “‘Nothing lasts forever,’ she said. / ‘Find the door yourself, dear, won’t you? / Think me still your flower. / I’ve treasured every hour, it’s true. / And if I had loved you, too, / I might have been as good as you.’”

“Painting Her Portrait” – This is such a heartbreaking song, Jane giving herself a wakeup call by painting, first a portrait of herself, then one of Blanche, to remind herself that Rochester could never love her.  She’s so utterly brutal to herself, and it’s just devastating to listen to.

Best lyric:  “I’m mastering detail, / Highlighting defects, / Making a permanent mirror to see / All of the faults that lie hidden in me.”

“In the Light of the Virgin Morning” – A really nice duet for Jane and Blanche.  Although each is lost in her own separate thoughts – Blanche with the preparations for marrying Rochester, Jane with the prospect of leaving Thornfield – their melodies and the themes they sing about intertwine them.  The overlapping bridge is especially lovely, and I like that this song humanizes Blanche a little, letting her worry about whether or not she’ll be able to love Rochester.

Best lyric:  “In the light of the virgin morning, / In the shade of the chestnut tree, / If I leave this unhappy bliss, / Where will my Eden be?”

“Sirens (Reprise)” – I love the initial version of “Sirens” too, but the Act II version is even better.  In it, Jane wrestles with her struggle of loving Rochester but being unable to marry him, and despite her longing to simply give in to his siren call, she cannot break with her principles.  Absolutely beautiful, and the lyrics take Jane through her dilemma stunningly.

Best lyric:  “Curse the passion, dim the flame. / If I cannot take his name, / I cannot take anything at all.”