Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Jane Eyre. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Jane Eyre. Sort by date Show all posts
Thursday 28 September 2017
Jane Eyre, National Theatre | Review
Jane Eyre
Lyttleton Theatre, National Theatre
★★★★
The National Theatre are outstanding at championing new, innovative work and thinking outside the box to bring audiences spectacular shows, something which they have once again succeeded at with this Sally Cookson's production of Jane Eyre. In Bristol, the tale was split into two parts but artistic director Rufus Norris has wisely squeezed the action into one performance.
I'm sure I'm not alone in having gruelling flashbacks to A-level English literature when I hear Brontë's novel mentioned, and what's lovely about this adaptation, thanks to the minimal sets, is that it allows the audience to create the world of Jane Eyre with their imagination as they would do when reading the book. The set is extremely modernistic in it's simplistic design with no grand structures to show the various momentous locations in Jane's life but instead using wooden platforms, metal structures and ladders as a framework for the action. The use of lighting is particularly impressive with white cloth backdrop that surrounds the stage being changed to different colours to show the various moods. The shocking red room is especially effective.
What struck me about this production is not only how modern it is in terms of aesthetics but how contemporary the character of Jane herself is. She's feisty with strong morals and a real feminist side. Although having seen her as ahead of her time when I read the novel, I'd never realised how truly relatable she is until watching this production. Her quest for freedom whilst not compromising her passions is joyous to watch.
The strong use of physical theatre added an intensity to the piece, as well as flow, especially in the running transitions during Jane's travels. The varying motion from smooth lyrical to frenzied, perfectly mirrored the changes in Jane's physical and metal health throughout. Another particularly interesting aspect was members of the ensemble speaking Jane's thought's aloud. This was humourous at times but also a very clever way of developing the character more without her having to tell the audience anything directly.
The trio of onstage musicians added a whole other layer with a number of musical styles accompanying crucial moments and transitions. Melanie Marshall was absolutely fantastic both physically and vocally; singing atmospheric pieces to fit with other characters or her own, Bertha. Her voice is strong and angelic whilst having a menacing and painful side. Her rendition of Crazy was notably unexpected but brilliant and perfectly woven into the story.
The entire ensemble are faultless but I must give a special mention firstly, to Paul Mundell who is hilarious as Pilot, adding some welcome humour. And secondly to Hannah Bristow who perfectly and distinctly plays Adele, Helen, Grace Poole and others.
This is a somewhat lengthy (3 hours and 15 minutes) play, but a striking production of a classic. The start is slightly slow but as we get into the action the momentum speeds up and we really get to see is the power of one of the first literary modern women.
Thursday 24 August 2017
Jane Eyre (Tour), Grand Opera House | Review
Jane Eyre (Tour)
Grand Opera House, Belfast
Reviewed by Damien Murray on Tuesday 22 August 2017
★★★★★
The National Theatre and Bristol Old Vic’s joint production of Jane Eyre is astonishingly good … and it is far from being what one would expect!
It may be based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel, but this work – devised by the original company – is modern in its approach, in its styling and in its staging and manages to retain Jane Eyre’s core characterisation of being a free spirit and a strong-willed individual who strives for equality and for the right to be herself.
I am not a Brontë fan, yet I was blown away by this riveting production and gladly sat through over three hours of it without any loss of interest. Everything about this visually-stunning production is praise worthy, from its innovative direction and inventive staging to its exceptional and intense ensemble playing (complete with strong elements of physical theatre), and from its faultless lighting and sound plots to its magnificent movement, which ranged from the delicate and the balletic to the furious and the frenzied throughout.
The trio of on-stage actor/musicians brought a lot to the table, with music that varied from appropriately ‘English’ style folk to gospel to what could best be described as atmospheric soundscapes, when required. Musically, I loved Melanie Marshall’s apt interpretation and arrangement of the Gnarls Barkley (CeeLo Green) hit, 'Crazy' – so unexpected, yet totally fitting.
Although performances were all faultless, I must congratulate Paul Mundell in particular for bringing the dog, Pilot, to life so well and with so much humour.
Years ago, the Belfast Festival at Queen’s used to bring some spectacular pieces of world theatre to Belfast and these were ‘special’… This production is of such a high calibre that it seems a shame that it is just another touring production, for it, too, is very ‘special’ and provides a fantastic night of theatre – Don’t miss it!
Jane Eyre continues at Belfast’s Grand Opera House until Sat 26 Aug, 2017
Saturday 18 April 2020
Lockdown but make it Stagey | 7 Ways To Be Theatrical During a Pandemic
Hello stagey people! Olivia here, I hope no one minds these more chatty style posts, but with all that's going on I wanted to switch it up a little bit and bring some more relaxed posts about how we can keep ourselves sane, and of course stagey, in these trying times. So with that, I'm sharing some of the ways I've been spending my time so that it might give you some ideas.
Online Courses: I signed up for both the Open University free courses and the FutureLearn courses. They have lots and lots of free courses in a whole host of subjects, ranging from beginner to advanced and are a great way to kill some time whilst keeping your brain active. So far, I've done three geography courses (I'm a bit of a geog geek) and am mid-way through a film and a music course. I've found them to be hugely informative and I've got my eye on a number of the Arts ones, including Approaching Plays and What Is Good Writing? You can sign up for free one the websites and do as many as you like!
Theatrical Artwork: Okay, so I'm not technically doing the artwork but I'm colouring in so it kinda counts, right?! The lovely John and Kayley aka The Stagey Couple have created a brilliant colouring in sheet featuring loads of wonderful shows and it's just excellent. The pair are creative, original and consistent with their content and I'm sure this isn't the only activity they'll provide us with during this lockdown.
Streaming Shows: If you're reading this, I assume you know that there are a whole host of shows being put online as well as other musical related media. I must admit I haven't watched loads but I thoroughly enjoyed Eugenius! and Jane Eyre. Also, Encore on Disney+ is my new guilty pleasure! I'm really looking forward to the future National Theatre productions that are streamed (fingers crossed for Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour) and it's great that there's so much on offer.
Concerts: As well as all the wonderful shows, there's been a load of streamed and recorded concerts. The Leave The Light On series is an excellent showcase of performers resilience and talent and also a wonderful way to sneakily snoop in people's houses, which we all secretly want to do! All the creative initiatives have been lovely to see, with Rob Fowler and Sharon Sexton's release of Grounded their concert recorded live in their living room, proving a real favourite with the Bat fans! It's all just GREAT!
Q&As: This just seems like the most brilliant time to gain all the inside knowledge on this wonderful community we're part of and that's been easy to do thanks to the plethora of interviews being made available online. FYI I'm about to hit you with a self-plug... I recently started a podcast called Beyond The Boards with my friend (and amazing performer) Stephanie Rojas and we've been doing an interview series called Beyond the Isolation on our instagram. It's all about how creatives are thriving during this time and I've learnt some great things and felt very inspired.
Quizzes: If there's anything I've learnt during this lockdown, it's that I love a quiz! I can't even tell you how many I've taken part in but there are so many on offer and they're so fun! On Monday I took part in The Other Palace's theatre quiz and it was not only entertaining and informative, but was also a brill way of feeling part of the theatre community again.
Baking: Okay so on the whole my baking has not been specifically theatre related but I feel like it's kind of automatically stagey 'cause it's near impossible to get your ingredients out without bursting into a Waitress number. I did make a pie inspired by the show the other day and it actually turned out pretty well so if you fancy whipping one up, I'll attach my video here. But yeah, baking is just real relaxing, just don't go Sweeney Todd to make it stagey!
So there are a few of my pandemic hobbies! I'm continually amazed at how well our community have come together to create and inform during this time and it can only make us stronger in the end! If you have any stagey ways that you're keeping entertained, let me know in the comments or on social media!
In saying all of this, it's also totally fine to do nothing during this time, you don't have to be working and grinding. Just do what calms you, what makes you happy and what you want to do. In a way we've been blessed with this time so use it however on earth you want!
In saying all of this, it's also totally fine to do nothing during this time, you don't have to be working and grinding. Just do what calms you, what makes you happy and what you want to do. In a way we've been blessed with this time so use it however on earth you want!
Stay safe and stay stagey,
Olivia x
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