Review: Brontë at the Lace Market Theatre Nottingham

Intentionally or not, Brontë the play, by Polly Teale is a subtle education into the nature of literary creativity placed firmly, and muddy booted, in the stark wilderness of the Yorkshire moors on to the all, soul revealing expanses of the stage. It is the polar opposite of didactic and explores the phenomenon of success by women in a Victorian world, albeit in a society that sadly, was ludicrously hard pushed to recognise the creative talents of any sex other than male.

Brontë is Teale’s third and final play to explore the works of the Brontë family, following on from her adaptation of Jane Eyre and her original play After Mrs Rochester, which was based on the life of Jean Rhys and her novel Wide Sargasso Sea, (itself inspired by Jane Eyre). The play was first performed by Shared Experience Theatre Company in 2005 and depicts the lives of Charlotte, Emily, Anne and Branwell Brontë.

The play (and also this Lace Market Theatre production) begins with three actresses in modern dress discussing the Brontës and their work. Some of the other actors also mill around the stage in modern day costume as the audience take their seats. Artifice then transfers into art. As they don their costumes the women assume the identities of Emily, Charlotte and Anne. Without a chronological structure, the characters move back and forth in time recounting scenes from their lives both as documented, and as imagined, by the author Polly Teale. Throughout the play, the story of the three women and their brother Branwell is entwined with appearances from the characters from their writing.

The play also shows the difficulties the writers had in their private and literary lives, not least of which was the inherent chauvinism entrenched in Victorian society, the hardship of life as an unmarried woman and (spoiler alert) the poor health of all four of them which leads to their untimely deaths and short lived happiness. It is somewhat ironic that the sisters never really lived long enough to realise the true genius in their writing and the paths their stories would take in our contemporary culture.

One wonders how they would consider the advent of television and film and audio versions of their works. As religious as they were, the futuristic result may well be too much for them to take in. Pride combined with disbelief in one’s own aesthetic is an unwieldy and heady affair. After all, the mere acknowledgement of being an authentic woman writer was a huge step for them to consider in their own lifetimes.

After viewing the play one might ask “How was it possible that these three celibate Victorian sisters, living in isolation on the Yorkshire moors, could have written some of the most passionate, bordering on erotic, fiction of all time?” One might also consider Teale’s own interest in theatre’s potential to, as she is quoted as expressing, ‘make visible what is hidden, to give form to the world of imagination, emotion and memory, to go beyond the surface of everyday life.’ The ‘power of the imagination to transcend time and place and circumstance, to take us to places we cannot otherwise go’ is powerfully wrought in her theatrical text and story.

So how does the Lace Market Theatre production, admirably directed by David Dunford, fulfil these desires to educate, elucidate and entertain? A strong core of the four main leads is essential. Thankfully we have this in spades. A heady mix of naturalistic acting combined with a dramatically heightened interpretation of the story and its subtexts and other-worldly elements is vital to the unfolding of a very captivating drama. This production is so much less of a limp and stodgy Yorkshire Pudding and much more of an eagerly anticipated feast of an aromatic Yorkshire stew and unctuous, extremely edible herby dumplings. No female dumplings are inferred in this review by the way!

Fine ingredients make a fine feast and the superb performances by Lucy Theobald (Charlotte Brontë), Abigail Mahoney (Anne Brontë), Charlie Osborne (Emily Brontë) and Daniel Potts as Branwell Brontë stir the audience’s soul throughout. It is as if we are voyeuristic onlookers into the most private moments of their cloistered lives. Theobald is especially good in this respect. Her studied interpretation combines a solid understanding of her character and its actualised, yet frustrated ambitions, strengths and vulnerabilities combined with diversions into bringing her innate creativity to life. The rivalry between the sisters is apparent and so is the luscious joy in recognising the acknowledgement of their literary endeavours by their predominantly male author contemporaries.

The first act is a mix of back tracking nostalgia and chronological; one moment we are in the Brontë siblings’ childhood the next in adulthood looking after the visually ill father (an excellently subtle portrayal by Daniel Bryant as Patrick Brontë and later as encouraging tutor M. Héger).

The theme of escape and freedom is theatrically examined through ornithology and some excellent AV effects throughout the production. The second act makes sense of the first and becomes more chronological in form and nature. Like the aforementioned Yorkshire stew the theatrical whole is plate lickingly satisfying.

The play concentrates on the key personalities and the very humble, religious and practical lives of the Brontë sisters and their wayward brother Branwell, plus their predominant Father and his failing eyesight. Yet, set amongst all this Victorian rural ‘normality’ flows a passionate vein of potential literary success in this most unprepossessing family. In our modern day parlance we might conjecture “Who would have thought?”

And this is where the play scores most highly in its structure. Balanced against the mundane reality of living in a remote Yorkshire parsonage we have the bringing forth of the active ghosts of creative characterisation; the underpinning and vital informants of the story teller’s narrative. Interwoven into the plot are various characters from the novels of the Brontë sisters; feather and flight obsessed Cathy from Wuthering Heights (Kayleigh Lupton), and Heathcliff and Huntingdon (the always excellent Damian Frendo). Steve Herring is most effective as Mr Bell Nicholls, the unexpected love element in the latter days of Charlotte Brontë’s life. Herring also plays Jane Eyre’s amour Rochester with an edge of resigned melancholy.

Aside from the leads, the most striking performance is by Cibele Alvarenga as Bertha, the first and severely mentally ill wife of Mr Rochester in the novel, Jane Eyre. Cibele Alvarenga imbues her choreographic interpretation of Bertha with a startlingly unearthly reading of the deeply affected and abjectly abandoned woman. Her dance-like body work is most pitiable to witness and yet at times has a poignancy that illustrates a ‘deep feeling’ or strong notion of female creative guru to Charlotte Brontë. Her depiction is that of a highly focussed vital force that is captivating to witness in its disparate transition from despair to sexually charged joy. These scenes do indeed, take us beyond and below the surface of this gripping theatrical tale.

Completing the visual impression of the play is the bookshelf inspired set by Linda Croston and the complex lighting design (as it switches effortlessly from short scene to short scene) by Simon Carter and projections by Matthew Allcock.

Read the original article here.

"Brontë" by Polly Teale
Nottingham, Lace Market Theatre

Brontë is a story about the turbulent lives of the Brontë sisters and their family. The year is 1845, their brother, Branwell Brontë, returns home to Haworth, West Yorkshire, in disgrace, having been dismissed from domestic service following an affair with the mistress of the house. As Branwell descends into alcoholism and insanity, bringing chaos to the household, his sisters, Anne, Charlotte and Emily, begin to write... Polly Teale's play is a glimpse into the lives of Yorkshire's most famous daughters and their real, and imagined world as their fictional characters come to haunt their creators.

The Brontës are arguably the most well known family of authors; Jane Eyre is said to be the most read book in the English language, second only to the Bible. Polly Teale asks, and tries to answer, the question of how three Yorkshire sisters were able to change the voice of literature and creates history for female authors in a time of social upheaval and Victorian housewifery.

The three sisters have diverse personalities, which are shown by their novels. Therefore it is vital that the actors do them justice and provide an idea of what life was like for them. Guess what, the three actors did just that.

Lucy Theobald plays the eldest, Charlotte, and is the maternal influence in the home, shifting between youthful excitement and desperation at her younger sisters Emily Brontë is one of the most mysterious of authors, It’s quite surprising that such a young woman was able to write a tale of the darker side to human nature without having that kind of life experience. Charlie Osborne plays Emily carefree and lively, as one would imagine her creation Cathy, but weighed down by disappointment until she becomes a tortured, unpredictable woman longing to return to her childhood.

Probably the least known sister is Anne Brontë, the youngest of the family and the one whose works had a more political and social edge to them. Played by Abigail Mahony, this is her first production for the Lace Market Theatre and as she loves historical drama, this is right up her street.

Daniel Potts (Branwell) and Daniel Bryant (Patrick Bronte), are strong supports as brother, literary protagonist, father and husband. Dan Potts also makes his debut Lace Market Theatre performance and again what a wonderful debut, engaging to the last as he slips rapidly into paranoia and madness. Daniel Bryant, as always puts in a sterling performance, reliable as ever.

Kayleigh Lupton (Cathy) is another first timer for the Lace Market Theatre and shows a lot of confidence in this smaller, but significant part. Looking at Kayleigh's eyes on stage, you can see she enjoyed the part and is hungry for more, and I for one can't wait to see what's next for her.

Damian Frendo (Heathcliffe and Arthur Huntingdon). Another lesser but important part in the play, Damian makes an appearance about half way through the second act, but as always, the dashing Damian stamped his personality and twinkle on the part of Heathcliffe.

Stephen Herring (Rochester and Bell Nicholls). Stephen has two more contrasting roles here, following on from playing Snug and The Lion in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Love the comedy as Rochester.

Cibele Alvarenga (Bertha). Wow! Clad in scarlet, she really is the scarlet woman in this play. Knowing Cibele, I think she loved playing this part. Not only is it a very sexy role, red really suits her and the crazy mad acting was fun to watch as well.

Directed by David Dunford, and possible the first male to direct this play, he brought out the different traits and characteristics of the sisters and the alcoholic brother. The second half with the violence in was spectacular and quite frightening to see.

The set was designed by Linda Croston. Simple but effective but the cinematography backdrop (Matthew Allcock) made the whole set look fuller and big. Even though it may have gone unnoticed by some, I loved the coal fire effect on the right hand side of the set.

Lighting design was by Simon Carter assisted by Peter Hodgkinson, Allan Green and Rose Dudley and the sound design was by Jack Harris. Two important production pieces that gave the play that bit of a zing, as well as creating the atmosphere of the era.

Original music was composed by Aaron Connelly which was a nice touch to the play, making it a bit more personal to the Lace Market Theatre.

Wardrobe by Barry Holland, assisted by Doreen Hunt and Jean Newton gave realism and style to the play.

Some may find the flash back sections a wee bit confusing until you get to know the story, but it was a nice touch to have the play start with the actors in fairly modern though non descript garb and go back in time to 1845 by way of an on stage costume change.

It's quite a racy script in parts but that does this historical drama no harm at all in my eyes.You may drift a bit with some of the longer passages of script but stick with it and act two makes up for the slightly confusing flashbacks and scene setting of act one.

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Brontë is 'virtually unmissable' at Nottingham's Lace Market Theatre

Those of us already acquainted with the factual biographies of the Brontë sisters as well as their wayward brother will have little to learn from this production. But the way it compels us to experience what it was like to be a part of that family makes it virtually unmissable.

This is down to the excellence of Polly Teale's play, but, more importantly, to the sheer quality of most of the acting. The family are especially well cast.

Lucy Theobald, in a splendid Lace Market Theatre debut, is the bespectacled Charlotte, who craves celebrity and in the end achieves it. And she is briefly married. Charlie Osborne is an impressive Emily, tall and single-minded, who dies tragically after publishing only one novel, but leaves some great poetry.

Abigail Mahony, also a Lace Market Theatre newcomer, plays Anne, then as now under-rated by comparison with her sisters. She is the one most aware of the social ills arising from the industrial revolution underway in the outside world. And, railing against the subjugation of her sex, she gets one of the key lines of the play: "Kept like overgrown children in the nursery of life".

Daniel Potts is entirely convincing as Branwell. Much more limited than his sisters, and a indulged wastrel to boot, he is, even so, tragically unfulfilled. And Daniel Bryant is excellent as their father, clergyman Patrick Brontë, pompous and correct, but essentially loving and tolerant.

Lighting is beautifully done. It helps to distinguish the living from the dead, and – since characters from the novels are brought to life and frequently converse with their creators – the real from the fictional. Back projection is well deployed to set scenes and to supply helpful and interesting supporting material, and period costumes are outstanding.

This is a terrific directorial Lace Market debut for David Dunford.

Read the original article here.