JANE EYRE | STAGE REVIEW
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Tue 27 June
The much-lauded Bristol Old Vic’s reworking of Jane Eyre, under the direction of Sally Cookson, has received critical acclaim throughout its second outing, following on from last year’s two-parter. Cookson presents the heroine Jane as a feisty, wilful feminist in the tiny frame of Nadia Clifford, whose tumultuous performance is both angry and determined.
The stage set, adapted by designer Michael Vale, comprises of wooden pallets, climbing frames and ladders, transporting the scenes from Rochester’s mansion in flames deftly to the red room where Jane is locked up in flashes of colour, sound and skilful use of space. Free-floating window frames create the illusion of grandiose rooms bursting open in the wind and slamming shut with intense precision. Tim Delap, as Rochester, commands the stage: he is both physically striking and his presence dominates the scene. His bellowing internal anguish as he strides from horse to carriage and field to home captures the internal wrangling of a foolish but essentially good and broken man.
The friction between the two leads is palpable and believable, building up to the inevitable climax. The score from the ensemble musicians, wherein strings, percussion and a haunting accordion throw out mournful jazz to thundering drumbeats, is both unnerving and essential. Melanie Marshall, as Bertha Mason, is a dark force with a penetrating voice, and adds drama and sadness as the ‘mad woman’ in the attic. Her melodic twist on Mad About The Boy and Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy meshes effortlessly with Cookson’s frenetic portrayal of a classic tale.
This version of Jane Eyre is dark and haunting in parts, although the first half for me was overlong and slightly lacking in any real drama. As Jane grows into an adult and her interactions with Mr Rochester intensify, the story becomes genuinely gripping.
words ANTONIA LEVAY