Bristol Old Vic
Review by Elena Mozzato
With great stories comes great responsibility. This is how director Sally Cookson must have felt when she embarked on the production of a two-part adaptation of Jane Eyre at the Old Vic in Bristol. ‘It’s always daunting when you are working on a story which everyone knows so well, because you want to surprise and maybe challenge their expectations, without losing any of the things which make them like the story in first place,’ she commented.
The result of her work is a beautifully orchestrated play about freedom and choice.
The live music, the theatrical movements and the extended looks by the actors tell the journey of characters we are very familiar with, but that are here brought to life in a new, sophisticated form. Jane (Madeleine Worrall) and Rochester (Felix Hayes) are real and intense in the search of their own identities and in their struggle to accept their nature and feelings.
This is not a fairytale love story; these are characters that are brilliant, grotesque, human and broken, which makes the adaptation credible and attractive.
What is most striking about the scenography is a tri-dimensional use of the stage space. Multi-level platforms, ladders and a grand piano are the world upon which the actors and musicians merge and accomplish an ambitious task. They act and sing among an atmospheric use of fire and light, descending clothes hangers and a manhole that serves as the grave for the less fortunate characters.
The music is particularly memorable – a mix of English folk, classical music and modern covers. These elements are mingled by sound design that makes the play both dark and deep.
Vocalist Melanie Marshall is a gem whose voice and presence are sublime. This is a powerful piece of theatre that highlights how modern Charlotte Bronte, her ideas and her book were, in an era when women were expected to fill their time with embroidery.
Cookson’s Jane Eyre is a unique combination of the visual, musical and verbal, which delivers the audience a modern and emotional performance.