Bronte

Arriving in good time, I was shown to my seat and settled in and looked forward to a good evening. The lights dimmed and we got underway.

The set, a simple design with a large boxed-in table centre stage with a full wall to the rear with matching flats to the rear both stage right and left allowing good ingress and egress. The rear wall though had eight fishing wires hanging from fly to floor, each with manuscript paper hanging, they gently moved in the breeze created as the actors moved. It was very effective. The set was very well lit, and the changes matched the mood swings of the play, both set and light paired together, really adding to the overall piece. 

Bronte is a tale of the three sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne, along with their brother Branwell and how the tale enfolds a series of trials and tribulations that befall this most famous of literary families.

As it always is at Chesil Theatre the standard of acting is first rate, Bronte was no exception. Jen Hale as Charlotte, Juliette Cross as Emily, Lauren Grierson as Anne, along with Andrew Jenks as the brother Branwell (and dual roling Arthur Huntingdon and Heathcliffe) Zoe Stanford as Bertha/Cathy and Ade Fry (Patrick, Arthur Bell Nichols, Rochester and Mr Heger) were all very confident in their respective roles and moved with ease around the set, their diction was of a very high quality and nothing was lost in telling the story. Given that there were several costume changes (some quite quick) the whole play ran well, no drop in pace and no drop in delivery. Well done Chesil, another great evening in this brilliant little theatre. Bravo.

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