Review: JANE EYRE, Theatre Royal, Glasgow

Charlotte Bronte's 1847 novel Jane Eyre is widely regarded as one of the best novels of all time. Long before feminism was a thing, Jane Eyre declared that "women feel just as men feel; they need exercise of the faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do". Orphaned as an infant and sent to live with an aunt who treated her worse than a servant and dished out cruel punishments, Jane obtained an education and started work as a governess where she meets and falls in love with her employer Mr Rochester. Not quite a simple love story, Mr Rochester has a dark secret that he is desperate to keep hidden that he promises to tell her after they've been married for a year and a day.

Nadia Clifford is an outstanding Jane Eyre, perfectly capturing her headstrong nature at age ten and throughout adulthood. A cast of seven play a variety of roles, from grown men playing young girls to playing sheep and best of all, a dog. Pilot the dog provides a bit of light relief in an otherwise mostly dark tale. Lynda Rooke is well cast as both the cruel Mrs Reed and the kindly Mrs Fairfax, switching between the two very different roles with ease.

There's a lot to cram into the play and running just over three hours it feels a little indulgent at times. There's a lot of story to get through and while it looks beautiful, there are scenes that I feel could have been condensed slightly. Aideen Malone's lighting design is astonishing and plays a vital part in the production. Dominic Bilkey's sound design was also pivotal, with voice overs and music highlighting to the gothic nature of the play.

The simplistic nature of this staging makes it all the more impressive. There are no changes of scenery, very little in the way of costume changes and the different roles played by the cast really spark the imagination. While it was written 170 years ago this production feels incredibly fresh and it is well worth seeing.

Jane Eyre is at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow until Saturday 10th June.

To post a comment, you must register and login.