22nd - 25th Februaruy 2012
Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte are three of the most well-known sisters in literary history. This play reveals both the real and imaagined worlds of these women, as their fictional characters are lifted from the page and brought to life; to haunt both them, and the audience.
As we move back and forth in time, we see how the family is affected by their desperate desire to escape their mundane reality and we witness their brother's descent into alcoholism and insanity. Finally, we begin to realsie what may have inspired them to write some of the most powerful and passionate fiction of all time.
Brontë by Polly Teale
Director's Note:
This is very difficult - trying to explain how excited, bewildered, grateful, and generally in awe i have been throughtout this experience. It is impossible to cut so much down into so few words - I would write a book, but perhaps after Bronte I'm not sure that's best. Too many feathers...
Anyway I can't say all I want too, only know that the people you are watching tonight and all those I had the pleasure of working with behind the scenes, are some of the finest, most talented, dedicated and simply Brincredible people that ever were. I love them all dearly. And as for Mr James Donnelly, my Production Managerand Captain of all things too hard or complicated for me; thank goodness for him. When he agreed to propose this play with me I didn't realise how lucky I was to have him on board. Now I do, and I won't forget.
Cast and Crew:
CAST
Patrick Bronte - Andy Beasley
Branwell Bronte - Mike Edwardson
Charlotte Bronte - Amelia Jones
Emily Bronte - Helena Bradbury
Anne Bronte - Ellie Webb
Cathy - Alice Ordish
Bertha - Kristy Kruithof
PRODUCTION TEAM
Director - Lucy Kempster
Production Manager - James Donnelly
Stage Manager - Hamish Ellis
Producer - Emma Beverley
CREW
Lighting Designer - Emma Reale
Sound Designer - Ben Dornan
Set Designer - Dan Turner
Costume Designers - Jess Waller, Laura Elliott
Rehearsal Photography - Stuart Gresham
Lighting Operator - Amy Matthewson
Sound Operator - Nina Halton-Hernandez
Assistant Stage Manager - Chris Chadwick
Composer - Rob Henry
Reviews
Recounting the lives of one of the most famous literary families in history, SuTCo performs Brontë by Polly Teale, a biographical play which follows a family stricken by continual hardship, isolation and sorrow.
The play focuses on the lives of the three sisters: Charlotte (Amelia Jones), Emily (Helena Bradbury) and Anne (Ellie Webb) who, in spite of their secluded and mundane lives in their father’s parish on the Yorkshire moors, live their adventures vicariously through their fiction.
Elements of the sisters’ biography seeps into their literature as they use the power of words to come to terms with the alcoholism and insanity of their adulterous brother Branwell (Mike Edwardson), who filters into many of the Brontës’ best-known literary figures.
The introspection of the sisters becomes uniquely externalised on the stage when their characters are lifted from off of the manuscript to enact some of the sister’s most hidden and troubled desires.
SuTCo unashamedly tackled issues of madness, violence, incest and imprisonment head on.
Director Lucy Kempster really gets to the heart of this play’s tensions and motives, continually pushing the boundaries between the Brontës’ lives and their fictional imaginations. The stage lighting contrasted bleak darkness with stark whiteness, representing the severity of the moors and the Brontës’ lives very effectively. This was also mirrored by the staging which was stripped back and angular.
The relationship between Emily and her fictional creation Cathy (Alice Ordish) from Wuthering Heights was beautifully played out. Both actresses took on the role of a mother figure to the other, compensating for the lack of maternal guidance which overshadowed both of their lives.
Of particular merit was Andy Beasley who played the Brontës’ Irish father Patrick, Mr Rochester and Charlotte’s husband Arthur Bell Nicholls. The versatility of his acting was outstanding. Beasley displayed a natural aptitude for accents and a convincing embodiment of a weary and poverty-stricken father who was consistently and unnervingly on the edge of being broken into fits of anger.
The play itself would perhaps only appeal to those familiar with the Brontës’ literature, as narrative clarity relied upon a familiarity with their fictional plots. The dénouement of the play also felt slightly too drawn out with the climax happening around 30 minutes before the end of the drama.
The actors searched for an ending through a series of profound one-liners which came in steady flow until the curtain fell. Nevertheless, SuTCo performed a play for literature lovers and theatregoers alike, giving an enormous amount for the audience to work with and unpick. This is a play well worth a watch.
Ellen Nicholls, Forge Arts, 2nd March 2012
