‘Jane Eyre’ review
‘commanded the stage with defiance and a distinctive and effective fidelity to the contemporary era’
Jane Eyre was brilliantly performed last night by actors from Feather Theatre Company, who revived the misty, early Victorian setting and commanded the stage with defiance and a distinctive and effective fidelity to the contemporary era. Credit goes to Directors Nat Pryke and Nell Hickson, assisted by Maia Tollner, Producers Basmah Shoaib and Aaliyah Angir, and Production Manager Thea Jupe for selecting and successfully emboldening the actors with the chance to explore the pitifully rigid social customs at that time, examining a household that is simultaneously fractured and moulded together by a formidable secret. The play delicately illuminates the dynamic between the central pair: a contemporary woman with limited prospects and the emotionally opaque Mr Rochester. Eyre’s gentle affection and inherent warmth surmounts Rochester, who is rendered incapable of flattening his affection for the eponymous character.
From the onset, Ross Killian expertly illustrated the evolution of Mr Rochester’s character. What debuted as an emotional dearth, a reckless arrogance, and an insistence on subjugating the one person he seems to take interest in, struggled to compete with his relentless attachment to her. Rochester’s boyish warmth sought to escape in moments where he couldn’t help but be near Jane, shyly requesting her opinion on whether his ‘forehead is handsome’ or not and we grasped an affirming sense that this is what Killian is really like in real life.
Estelle Pollard Cox’s performance as Jane Eyre was a real highlight, exhibiting a phenomenal connection to her character but pertinently expressing poignant emotions of resentment towards Mr Rochester. These were impressively distinctive from fury or rage, covering a more subdued and deflated mood that the audience could perceive from rows and rows away. A particular mention must go to her praying scenes where such a private act conserved their sacredness, albeit being completely public to the audience.
You could easily forget that Lauren Williams stepped into all six shoes of Leah, Blanche and Bertha, and she (credit partially due to the wigs, hair, and makeup team) initially had me convinced this was a ten-person show. Her loyalty to Adele was an unexpectedly endearing dynamic in the show and I commend this thoughtful adaptation of the book!
Noah Benson equally succeeded in his double role as both Mr Mason and Sir John Reeves, and I found his performance of timidity and cowardice in the company of Mr Rochester strikingly sincere. Benson had the task of revealing the coveted secret, and his dynamic with Reverend Wood - played by Molly Cowell - at the altar created enough tension and audience investment to surmount the devastating scene of Jane having been jilted. I couldn’t ignore Cowell’s compelling expressions of solemn sympathy synthesised with her lividity directed towards the husband-to-be, all while maintaining a pious grace suited to their surroundings - bravo!
The silhouettes, fabrics and lengths of the garments were clearly chosen to respect each character’s individuality, career, and, in the case of Adele, effervescent personality, whose royal blue velvet dress reminded me of the sentiment of her youth as well as her charming attachment to her French nationality.
One of the most entertaining features was Olivia Maxwell’s stamina to maintain Adele’s innocent joie de vivre, incumbered not even by Mr Rochester’s frightening voice, and an accent that spoke to her strong French roots and implicit longing for a return to the life she had led. Her tenderness for Mrs Fairfax was a subtle hint to this growing wish for a motherly figure and the two interacted in an impressive fashion of silent proximity and non-verbal affection, accurate for this era.
Despite not being entangled in the romance, Ruby Newall took a great lead role as Mrs Fairfax, delegating roles with an authentic tolerance and vigorous authority, symptomatic of an overworked and underpaid housekeeper. She should be praised for her noticeable retention of lines and gestures, appearing entirely in her element in a role where arguably every other character relied on her cues.
I greatly appreciated the visual consistency in the velvet dresses amongst the female characters, and Lighting Designer Hamish Campbell and Lighting Operator Luna Oladiji are to be lauded for their subtle illumination of this uniformity. The stage arrangement and props, supervised by Stage Manager Leon Ansorg, were well-selected to reference the modest wealth of Mr Rochester and his long-term reluctance to enter the room and interact with everything he’s been avoiding. Since Leah is perpetually dusting and each piece of furniture has a draped cloth over it, the audience are obligated to question what exactly happened here to make our protagonist rarely return - a subtle addition that successfully exacerbates the general mood of uneasiness. The lighting team particularly made a real impact here too as the transitions to a morning sunrise effectively kept up the momentum of the play, as well as contrasting Blanche’s vivid costume with the more durable, worn nature of Eyre’s dress. The whole tech team, led by Production Manager Thea Jupe, should be very proud.
Overall, this play felt temporally accurate, emotionally stimulating, and layered with well-considered tech and stage features that contributed to the authentic gothic pull. Characters deviated from their archetypal roles, and I was sincerely blown away to see such breadth of emotional capacity from row L.
By Emilie Sparke.