Jane Eyre

This was an ambitious project for Tread The Boards.

A cast of 12 played no less that 38 roles, with most cast members also performing as  narrators – a sort of Greek chorus who expressed Jayne’s thoughts at various points in the play. The actors achieved a good standard with Rebecca Waters as Jane Eyre and Chris Watkins as Edward Rochester performing their large parts extremely well. Hilary Morris and Brian Brooks were also impressive in their main roles as Mrs Fairfax and Mr Brocklehurst respectively and the rest of the cast deserve full credit for their characterisation in so many roles.

Diction was nice and clear and well-projected (no mean feat in the rather large space of the Chrysalis Theatre) and lines well-learned.

I also enjoyed the singing which I take to be an integral part of the play – though there were times it needed to be done with much more confidence.

With 31 scenes devising a set was obviously a challenge. Trucks or projection could be solutions but in this production the play was set against a background of black drapes with a rectangular opening a few feet above the ground for ‘upstairs’ scenes which was also very effectively used on some occasions as a place to feature an individual character to make an important speech. With appropriate period costume and props this set worked very well – though it was disappointing to see Mr Brocklebank and Mr Mason (roles which were doubled) in the same (rather fine) costume. Bearing in mind the period (mid 1800s) and the problems they caused I also wonder if the use of wigs and hairpieces was really necessary.

Matching roles and players’ ages is a perennial problem for most societies, exemplified here by a young/young-looking Rochester who looked nothing like the man of 40 described in the script. I do not intend to be unkind when I say that suspension of disbelief is what theatre is all about but there are limits. If Rochester’s possible match with 25-year-old Blanche is questionable then a possible marriage to his young governess verges on the scandalous – one of the key themes of the play - and casting needs to recognise this.

Adaptations are something of a mixed bag for me (try as I might I have never erased the memory of a dire adaptation of Martin Chuzzllewit at Northampton Royal Theatre 30 years ago!) and Willis Hall’s adaptation of this popular story is no exception. Extremely wordy with lots of exposition – I think ‘show don’t tell’ is a good maxim - this was not an easy play for director Brian Brooks and his company to take on but, all things considered, their production of  Jayne Eyre made for an interesting and enjoyable night out.

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