Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Sally Cookson’s energetic, inventive stage adaptation of JANE EYRE (via NT at Home) takes the Dickensian route

• By drediman
• April 12, 2020
• No Comments

Madeleine Worrall (center) in the title role of the National Theatre’s production of “Jane Eyre”, streamed this week via NT at Home. Photo by Tristram Kenton.

Like many performing arts fans across the globe, I’ve been adapting to the current reality of having the complete inability to access live performance. Although nothing can replace the singularly visceral impact of experiencing theater in person, we luckily live in a day and age which allows us to stream the performing arts directly into the comfort of our own homes. One such example is an extension of the National Theatre’s very popular NT Live programming, NT at Home. Through this recently-initiated initiative (commencing two weeks ago with a highly successful “broadcast” of Richard Bean’s popular award-winning comedy One Man, Two Guvnors starring James Corden) – which provides starved theater audiences completely free transmissions from the London-based theater company’s extensive archives during the coronavirus pandemic – I had the opportunity last night to view its recent staging of Jane Eyre, as adapted from the much-loved Charlotte Brontë novel of the same name.

The co-production was initially mounted by the Bristol Old Vic in 2014 as a four-and-a-half hour stage adaptation spread across two evenings. By the time the staging made its way to London’s National Theatre a year later, it had trimmed about an hour off of its run time and had been further condensed into a single dose of theater (which clocks in at a hefty but fast-paced three hours, if you choose not to take a self-prompted intermission at home). Directed by Sally Cookson with energy and invention that has her hardworking ensemble cast fervently bounding and climbing a skeletal, playground-like (and sometimes combustible) set, the devised production places a premium on sweeping storytelling and less so on psychological depth. Contributing immensely to the scrappy and accessible cinematic sweep of Ms. Cookson’s episodic but fluid work is the integral support of a versatile onstage band, which provides both vibrant underscoring and the occasional commentary via the contemporary popular songbook.

This is not the first stage adaptation of the the classic Brontë novel I’ve seen. I have fond memories of Polly Teale’s take for Shared Experience, a version that I had seen in London more than two decades ago. I would argue that Ms. Teale’s earlier adaptation is more artful and successful at conveying the turbulent inner life of the work’s titular heroine. But I’d like to think that there’s room for more than a single point of view, especially when the material is as rich as the underlying novel in question. Indeed, Ms. Cookson’s eagerly Dickensian – if unavoidably melodramatic – approach has considerable merits, especially as handled by a company as skilled and spirited as her band of actors. Leading the way in the title role is the winning Madeleine Worrall in a performance of grit and relentless commitment. But I would say that the most striking aspects of this stage adaptation of Jane Eyre is its feisty modern feminist perspective, which creates a dialogue with but never intrudes on Ms. Brontë’s timeless tale of emotional abuse, self-discovery, and hard-won love.

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JANE EYRE
Streaming Theater
National Theatre / NT at Home (via YouTube)
3 hours
Streaming through April 16