Jane Eyre’s composure during Edward Rochester’s tantrums, and her forgiveness of his dishonesty, is remarkable. Rachel Porter captured orphan Jane’s instinctive dignity and self-respect acutely, enabling her to step from Charlotte Bronte’s pages into this imaginative production with total credibility.

Jane had endured a wretched childhood with bullying cousins, and at Lowood Hall School where neglected pupils died. Her limited life experience ensured that she never questioned her lot. Small wonder that she fell so easily for Rochester’s rude and sarcastic charms. Tom Holloway’s Rochester showed his insecurities dramatically.


This is a story where the past is always with us – literally, in the case of Rochester’s disturbed and miserable wife imprisoned in the attic. Black Ram’s novel way to avoid re-telling the story was to open with a mimed version presented by masked actors. This eye-catching device avoided over-long explanations of the past. It also drew attention to the Gothic qualities of the tale – dark figures moving in a mysterious landscape, where all is not what it seems.

Staging in the intimacy of The Quay is challenging. Imaginative lighting, bathing Jane and Edward in red was not only sinister, bur suggestive of the awful Red Room in which Jane so suffered as a child. A solitary window frame symbolized the distant existence of the outside world. The pyrotechnics which destroyed Thornfield Hall, Bertha, and blinded Edward, were extremely well-managed.

Jane’s later transformation into an independent woman, voluntarily seeking out her erring man, was a little sudden. The famous statement ‘Reader, I married him’ became a short dance of joy at the conclusion of a dark story.
Ross McGregor’s thoughtful direction, and the collective energy of the Black Ram actors, ensured success. Their 2009 return to Sudbury with Twelfth Night should be a treat for us all.

Mary Dunk
September 2008

www.blackramtheatre.com

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