REVIEW: Emma Rice’s adaptation of WUTHERING HEIGHTS Is A Clear And Captivating Expression of Emily Brontë’s Gothic Novel.

Saturday 1st February 2025, 7pm, Roslyn Packer Theatre

Told as a mythic legend, Emma Rice’s (adaptor and director) adaptation of Emily Brontë’s WUTHERING HEIGHTS is captivating combination of storytelling, music and movement.  Following on from UK and US seasons, this co-production from A National Theatre, Wise Children, Bristol Old Vic an York Theatre Royal, has its Australian Premiere. 

While many may be familiar with Brontë’s story of the obsessive and unbalanced inhabitants of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, recounted to Lockwood (Sam Archer), the new tenant of the latter home, by housekeeper Ellen, Rice reimagines the storytelling as being delivered not by a human, but by an expression of the West Yorkshire Moors, the landscape on which the two properties sit.  Reinforcing the idea that the landscape is a critical character of the dark tale, Nandi Bhebhe provides the main voice for the Moors who narrates and provides the ongoing foreshadowing warnings to the unhearing humans.  A combination of live actors and puppetry, music and movement is used to tell the story of how, even with the attainment of the goal to rise from the orphan outsider abused by his adoptive brother Hindley (Matthew Churcher), Heathcliff (John Leader) can never have what he really wants, his adoptive sister Catherine (Stephanie Hockley) who despite being fond of, possibly even loving him, chooses a socially more advantageous marriage to Edgar Linton (Sam Archer), leaving Heathcliff to be driven by hate and revenge as he leads a brutally cruel existence.

Set and Costume Designer Vicki Mortimer has given Rice a artfully simple staging that utilizes found items to be repurposed as they provide enough imagery to trigger the imagination, from the farming implements employed to represent Heathcliffs vicious dogs and an assortment of panels mounted on trolleys to serve as the doors and windows of the two homes with the lowered light fittings shifting the space from the run down Wuthering Heights to the brighter and refined Thrushcross Grange.  A large screen provides a backdrop and enables handwritten text to connect the story to its written origins and also reinforce things like the flocks of blackbirds that accompany the many deaths that mar the story but thankfully the design has refrained from trying to use the  Costumes anchor the work in the early 19th century while also having a found nature as more contemporary elements are included to ensure modern sensibilities easily connect the underlying shift in status from life at Wuthering Heights to Thrushcross Grange.

Woven with Ian Ross’ music that draws on folk tones and Etta Murfitt’s choreography that has earthy tribal movements, this interpretation of WUTHERING HEIGHTS injects a fresh life into the dark story.   With the work centering on Heathcliff and his obsession, Catherine, with the Leader of the Moors being the key narrator, John Leader, Stephanie Hockley retain these roles throughout while the rest of the ensemble take on multiple characters including The Moors.  Sam Archer brings a delightful physical comedy to Lockwood as he battles against the storm across the Moors when he visits his landlord and Edgar Linton who at face value seems nice and gentle but has the capability for prejudice initiating Heathcliff’s desire for retribution for his poor treatment.  Matthew Churcher gives Heathcliff’s first tormenter Hindley a requisite savagery while presenting Hindley’s son Hareton with a similar aggression born of his treatment from his father and ‘uncle’.  As Edgar Linton’s sister Isabella Linton, Rebecca Collingwood conveys a naivety for the easily manipulated child while she infuses a more calculated undertone for the Heathcliff’s and Isabella’s frail son Little Linton. 

As the Leader of the Moors, Nandi Bhebhe brings a delightful energy to the story as The Moors share their own opinion of the events unfolding, circling around the central characters hoping to influence their decisions but continuously failing to stop them from making unwise choices.  Bhebhe gives The Moors a power and gravitas to ensure that it is clear that nature is seen as a major character in the story.  The other comedy relief comes from TJ Holmes’ portrayal of Dr Kenneth, the medical man that oversees all of the deaths in the neighborhood with a terrible bedside manner. 

As Catherine, Stephanie Hockley ensures that the object of Heathcliff’s affection and obsession is seen as increasingly unbalanced, from the initial wish for a gift of a whip, to reflecting that she regrets giving up the wild life playing on the Moors with Heathcliff to marry Edgar in what is considered a more socially acceptable match than the orphan that had been treated as a servant once her father died.  She captures the maniacal nature well and her expression of Catherine’s solo rock song that features is powerful as it expresses her mental state.  As Heathcliff, John Leader has a haunting gravitas drawn from both the physicality he brings to the role and his vocal tone.  He allows the orphan, taken in and doted on by Mr Ernshaw, to grow from a young boy enjoying playing with his adoptive sister but bullied and beaten by his jealous adoptive brother, into an adult driven by the desire to seek vengeance on those that have mocked, mistreated and rejected him.  He shifts Heathcliff’s character to become scarily broody, controlled and menacing with a quieter undertone in contrast to those that have tormented him in the past.

Regardless of whether you are well acquainted with the classic story or just have a passing awareness of the novel, this production tells the complex story with clarity and makes the gothic tale a captivating evening of entertainment despite the twisted subject matter.  A must see for it’s inventive storytelling that shifts a classic novel to the realm of myths and legends.

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