There is very little dance in the book Wuthering Heights. At the Thornfield Hall, Jane observes people dancing, but she is not part of it. "There was the sound of the piano and the voice of singing; then a pause, and the stately measure of a dance." Dance is stately and performative, but neither emotional nor intelligent in Jane Eyre. Cathy Marston's ballet adaptation, therefore, is an interesting one. Brontë's book portrays a thinking and feeling woman and her inner consciousness expounded in hundreds of pages. It is no easy task to incarnate a fictional memoir so deeply pensive and extensive in words.
Nonetheless, the piece has strength in storytelling. Marston great command of narrative and is clear on the direction. Young Jane, abused and overlooked growing up in an orphanage, meets Heathcliff, in whom she finds love. Through her journey, she gains strength and hope. There is certainly drama, passion and love, that is also musically persuasive. Phillip Feeney's score has both 19th-century romanticism as well as a modern, suspenseful tone, which the orchestra led by Daniel Parkinson executed near to perfection.
The production enjoys some brilliant moments, especially from the corps. The pass by the orphans and D-men creates a suspenseful feeling and adds force to the narrative. Sarah Chun and Joseph Taylor were strong dancers in Jane and Heathcliffe. Some pas de deux are sweet and playful, and lifts and drags are slightly overdone. The push-and-pull chemistry is palpable. However, there could have been more character building of Jane, especially considering the ending where Jane insists on her reign on the narrative coming out of the dark stage after her reunion with Heathcliff. Throughout the work, Jane has little contemplation, time for herself, and development of her own corporeal language.
The set and lighting fall flat and do little to imbue a gothic atmosphere in which the piece fails to beat the original. The overall visual design could have given more magic to the piece.
There is nevertheless, a very solid attempt to recreate a convincing love story, perhaps not Jane's story as told in her narrative, but a timeless drama that is beautiful in motion.
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Review: Sam Lee Photo: Tristram Kenton