Hull Truck Theatre brought the classic novel of Charlotte Brontë to stage last Saturday at The Lighthouse in Poole.
Jane Eyre which many think may be Charlotte Brontë’s most famous work reflected a wide range of themes including religion, equality, independence and love.
Among the Brontë family, Charlotte’s Jane Eyre though still considered to be a gothic novel, is actually quite ordinary and sweet. It is exciting to see the adaptation of such a romantic story and I enjoyed this Hull Truck Theatre’s version.
I loved this novel once I first read it, but I never pictured the real image of Jane Eyre. Now after this play, she will look like Rebecca Hutchinson.
When she said the most well-known lines from the novel: “Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong!” she took control of the scene. The spirit of independence and the deep love toward Mr Rochester was mixed together throughout the performance.
Hutchinson successfully delivered the heartbreaking emotion of Jane Eyre to all the audience.
Andrew Dowbiggin and Viktoria Kay are brilliant actors, Dowbiggin took all the male characters in the play while Viktoria Kay took all the nine female roles except the lead.
Both actors captured the essence of all their roles and made it seem effortless to do so.
Laura Turner, the adaptor of this play, said that she had loved this novel for a long time. The adaptation was great, the script had to drop something out but it had all the elements which should be in the play.
The show began with the old Jane Eyre telling her life story which was a smart way to open the show. The sound, the costume and the lighting are also good, all these factors worked together and brought the old times back to life.
The only slight problem was the set. There was only one set from beginning to end, however, this whole show included many places. Sometimes, when they entered a different scene, the set caused some sort of confusion and distraction. But I did still love this one set’s style and it went well with the costume of the time period.
As Jasper Forde from The Eyre Affair said: “Governments and fashions come and go but Jane Eyre is for all time,” and applause to Hull Truck Theatre, their adaptation of Jane Eyre presented the novel very well.
Main photo credit: Hull Truck Theatre
