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This Off Book Off Tour review critiques the 2015 live recording of Jane Eyre at The National Theatre in London, directed by Sally Cookson, and streamed on Youtube through The National Theatre at Home's service in April 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Adapting one of the most popular novels in the Anglophone literary canon is not for the faint-hearted, but to devise an entire performance without a script might be plain crazy. Perhaps, but Sally Cookson’s Jane Eyre is a triumph: full of life, energy and passion, with characters leaping from platforms who seem half crazy themselves.
With a hefty 3 hour run time, it has the space to chart every key moment of the novel (actively refusing to focus solely on the turbulent romance) but the incorporation of lively physical theatre and live music mean it never feels like a trudging journey but rather a rip roaring whistle stop tour of Jane’s life as a whole. That being said, this is not a performance which simply ticks off events; though the most important moments are captured well, the emphasis is focused on rendering the feeling and atmospheres of the novel.
Michael Vale’s set is plain and practical like Jane herself. It’s all wood and metal climbing frames, and when coupled with the white curtain and piano, this brings a school hall atmosphere which is fitting as much of the shaping of Jane’s character occurs at the infamous Lowood Institution. Director Cookson wanted the set to act like a playground to allow the actors freedom to move but conversely to also show Jane’s struggle reflected in the physical effort required to traverse the space comprising of vertical ladders and hard wooden steps: this is achieved perfectly. There is scarcely any decoration in the set, nor soft furnishings: when Helen Burns (a versatile Laura Elphinstone) lies on her deathbed, she does so on the exposed wooden platform with only a blanket. Even at Thornfield Hall, there is no bed for Jane and the only piece of furniture of any comfort is an armchair reserved for Mr. Rochester. Jane’s life is hard-work and as such, so is starring actress Madeleine Worrall’s role (but an absolute joy to watch), and she and the entire ensemble simply don’t rest in this performance, owing to a show which is characterised by kinetic energy and tearing passion.
The music in the production, by Benji Bower, is beautiful and its live quality really lends itself to the storytelling. With the musicians constantly on stage, they’re often able to dip into the action to play ensemble characters. Bertha is played by Melanie Marshall, a soul singer in a red silk dress, and she creates a striking image and lends a voice to the otherwise silenced figure. In general, the music is original, expect three tracks, including Mad About the Boy and more daringly, Crazy by Gnarls Barkley, which are thoughtfully arranged but are too anachronistic and take you out of the world of the play. Music and movement is combined effectively, particularly when Jane leaves Gateshead: the actors run in place to a lively beat and the calling out of station stops, capturing Jane’s excitement at her onward journey.
The physicality is an element which is used with imagination. A sequence at Lowood sees the girls trudging in single file and collectively splashing water on their faces, encapsulating the monotony and suffering of life inside the freezing, draconian school. Another interesting idea is using multiple performers to speak Jane’s thoughts, allowing us to physically observe her loneliness and portray her musings as conversations inside her own head. Madeleine Worrall gives an impeccable performances as the heroine, managing to embody both the feistiness and earnestness as Jane as a child as well as the sensitivity and stoicism of Jane as an adult. Felix Hayes gives us a worthy and deep-voiced, bed-head Rochester, while Craig Edwards also deserves an honourable mention as not just school master Mr Brocklehurst but Pilot the dog, inhabiting a canine physicality with only the aid of a riding crop for a wagging tail.
Costume designer Katie Sykes gives her costumes a general ‘Victorian look’ but they’re adapted and unfussy; we notice that the women’s dresses are purposely cut above their boots so as not to hinder their clambering about the tricky set. Jane’s costume changes all happen on stage which is a brilliant way to show transformation in both age and state of mind. We see her move from her Gateshead childhood shift dress, loose-fitting and crumpled, to a drab Lowood smock with an institutionalising brown cap, to a more elegant yet still simple dress, complete with restricting petticoat and corset as she transitions to womanhood, to her final wedding dress crowned with an exaggeratedly long veil sliced in two.
The National Theatre’s Jane Eyre is a gem of a production that grabs you tight and doesn’t let go. With innovation that can only come from the hive mind of the whole company working together to devise such a production, combined with expert music, costume, and set, the play is a monumental achievement considering the length, originality and cohesion of the piece as a whole.
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