Northern Ballet's 'Jane Eyre' reviewed by Janet McNulty

Cathy Marston was commissioned to create Jane Eyre for Northern Ballet’s tour to smaller theatres in 2016. Two years later it has been part of the main scale Spring tour and has just ended a week of performances at Sadler’s Wells where I was lucky to attend both a matinee and evening performance. I loved this ballet at its premiere in Doncaster and I was interested to see how it would look on the much bigger stage … I can confirm that it looked fabulous! The set is made up of a back cloth and simple scrims that evoke the North Yorkshire Moors. The scrims are moved by the dancers to create different settings. There is also a raised area at the back of the stage and the most fabulous chair for Mr Rochester. Philip Feeney’s effective score is partly adapted from music by Fanny Mendelsohn and enhances the 19th century atmosphere. Northern Ballet is chock full of dance actors and this has enabled Cathy Marston to create a character driven work that covers Jane Eyre’s life before Thornfield Hall as well as her life there.

The story starts with Jane realising that Mr Rochester is already married and running off. We see her being buffeted by the elements - a chorus of 8 men - until she collapses and is found by St John Rivers, who takes her home to his two sisters. We then see Jane starting to tell her story…

Young Jane was played by a different dancer (Ayami Miyata at the matinee and Rachael Gillespie in the evening). We first see her at the funeral and being taken in by her Aunt. She is taunted unmercifully by her cousins and when she retaliates her Aunt consigns her to the orphanage. What I particularly liked about Rachael Gillespie as Young Jane is that you can see her cowed and frightened but then finding her spirit - the spirit that carries her through her time at the orphanage. The orphanage is a place of oppression and drudgery, portrayed by the young orphans making repetitive moves as though learning to write and perhaps washing clothes in a laundry. There is a nice contrast in behavior as the orphans go from joyless to joyful under Jane’s tutelage. Jane makes friends with Helen Burns when she tries to stand up for her and there is a most touching duet for the two of them as Helen fades away through illness. We see Jane’s grief and as she pulls herself together she is led off the stage by the D-Men as adult Jane comes on as the teacher. We then see Jane receiving a letter and then arriving at Thornfield, where we are introduced to the housekeeper, Mrs Fairfax, and Rochester’s ward Adele.

Jane has settled in as governess to Adele before Rochester puts in an arrogant appearance. In their first duet they edge around each other warily. Rochester is sitting on his chair and Jane goes to leave - he puts out his foot to stop her. I loved the way in which the choreography explains their growing feelings for each other and how they react with each other. Abigail Prudames and Mlindi Kulashe performed these roles together in the first run and have deepened their characterisations. There was a great chemistry between them at the matinee. In the evening Hannah Bateman (who performed Jane in the first run) and Joseph Taylor (new to the role of Rochester) were outstanding. Every tiny facial expression and tiny movement had meaning and took you deeper into their characters. In Act Two, following the famous dinner party scene that many of us know from the novel, there is another lovely pas de deux between Jane and Rochester. There is a sense of awkwardness and misunderstanding between them before Rochester finally manages to convince Jane that he is in love with her and he proposes. The wedding is organised and is going ahead when Bertha appears to disrupt it and reveals that she is married to Rochester. A fire ensues with Rochester desperately trying to save Bertha and being blinded for his trouble. The lighting for this section is blood red and very dramatic. Bertha was performed by Hannah Bateman at the matinee and by Mariana Rodrigues in the evening. Both played the character as suitably deranged and vengeful, contrasting to Jane’s sweet natured demeanour.

When Jane arrives back she is horrified to find the house in ruins and she finds Rochester in his broken state. She persuades him that she loves him. The final duet where they find their love is incredibly moving, and the ballet ends with Rochester standing behind Jane with his arms around her as she moves forward alone into the spotlight - her own woman.

Cathy Marston seems to have an innate ability to sketch a meaningful character with just a few moves and motifs. In Jane Eyre she has created characters I believed in and cared about. Her device of the D-men is really clever - they are the elements, party guests and scenery movers and generally keep the narrative moving along. She has choreographed three beautiful duets with interesting steps and understated, unusual low lifts. Northern Ballet’s dancers imbue them with meaning.