The End Of The AffEyre- Review, Jane Eyre Part II, UEA Drama Studio

Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’ must be up there with ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’ in the contest for most adapted novel of all time.

As such, it was with trepidation that The Tab stepped into the UEA Drama Studio to watch the second half of third year drama students’ adaptation of the iconic story- worried that all we would see was yet another BBC-style Sunday night period drama. We need not have feared- UEA students provided a retelling of the story that was evocative, fresh and completely original.

The second half of the piece picks up at two different points- a happy Jane (Sophie Burnham) and the brooding Mr Rochester (played with immense physicality by Jack Carmichael) at the point of their marriage, and Jane (played by another actress, the outstanding Sophie Greenham) escaping Thornfield to find her way over stormy moors.

At first, having two scenes played almost concurrently on-stage proved a little confusing, even for a seasoned reader of the book, but the contrasts that were shown in each side of Jane’s character were made all the more explicit by having two actresses play the role.

This duality continued throughout the piece, and the audience soon began to appreciate the skills a theatrical adaptation can bring that a film cannot quite reach.

Similarly, flashback was used to great effect which allowed characters who are normally glossed over to fulfil their potential. This was particularly effective when the history of Bertha Mason- the original and still the best mad wife in the attic- was explored, and the audience reached far greater depths in our understanding of the characters.

Far from appearing blasphemous, this deviation from the novel proved the scriptwriters’ originality- and it allowed us to feel sympathetic for a character who is too often stereotyped. One of our main concerns was how the actors would recreate the desolate and atmospheric landscape which is so crucial in the novel.

They rose to the challenge by using some beautiful physical theatre to evoke weather- and this idea of physicality was used again later to show power shifts between the two sides of Jane, a simple yet incredibly potent sequence.

The ensemble work also merits a mention here- the use of song, dance, and choral work provided some of the most memorable moments of the piece, particularly at the very end. We won’t spoil it here, but we had shivers running up our spine!

The acting in general was superb, however, The Tab felt that some actors perhaps tried a little too hard to create their own interpretation of the character rather than use the rich body of material already provided to them by Charlotte Bronte.

Mairtin Dwyer’s St John Rivers was fantastically pious and stern, but possibly a little too physically intimidating, almost to the point of being creepy. In addition, we were disappointed at the lack of northern accents attempted by the principals in the cast- ‘Jane Eyre’ is one of Yorkshire’s finest exports and having the vast majority of the cast speak in crystal cut southern accents detracted slightly from the realism of the piece.

Our final criticism is that although splitting the play in two allowed the plot to be fully explored, it would be difficult for someone not familiar with the novel to watch either half but not the other. Altogether, the running time of both halves comes to six and a half hours- slightly out of reach for stressed-out students with huge overdrafts and looming deadlines!

UEA’s adaptation of ‘Jane Eyre’ is designed for those who want to reach deep in the core of the story. It is a long and at times challenging piece to sit through- but for those in the audience tonight, it was well worth it.

The cast and crew have once again astounded us by their thoughtful yet creative approach to a classic text. We were expecting stiff language and corsets, and we were delivered a performance that has made us want to pick up the book to immerse ourselves in Jane’s world once again.