Review of Wuthering Heights Stage Production
Wuthering Heights review
There were a number of adjectives that I heard, and spoke, upon seeing the touring stage production of Wuthering Heights but the most accurate would have to be – bewildering.
When I was asked to do a review of this London-based play/musical/spoof (I’m not sure which), my first thought was – how could Emily Bronte’s classic dark tale of unrequited love and obsession, written in 1845, be translated to the stage for a modern audience?
Sure, it has been made into three films over the decades, with accomplished actors portraying the rageful, tortured Heathcliff and the strong-willed and mischievous Catherine, but central to the story are the haunting Yorkshire moors, almost another character.
Kip Williams is the Australian Director
Not that it can’t be done. Australian director Kip Williams has pioneered “cine-theatre” and turned gothic classics Dracula and The Picture of Dorian Grey into journeys of staggering innovation and creativity that elicit career defining performances from the actors, or actor.
Wuthering Heights sat somewhere on the spectrum of innovative … and unhinged.
I acknowledge the entire cast for giving it their all. The actors created a synergy that was infectious, and I have no doubt they were enjoying it.
Stephanie Hockley as Catherine
Having a live band on stage was the best part of the production. The music was sublime, and Catherine (Stephanie Hockley) had an exceptional voice – her few songs effortlessly filled the Ros Packer Theatre. When she sang, I found it spellbinding but her portrayal of Catherine as a child was strangely cruel – an aspect I never picked up from the book.
John Leader as Heathcliff
More perplexing, however, was Heathcliff’s accent which was reminiscent of The Count from Sesame Street. Why actor John Leader chose that had me stumped the entire performance. I had never imagined Heathcliff to sound like an undead dark lord, but I will probably never be able to shake it. And I admit to moments of confusion as to why one of the house maids (I think) had a tree on her head (because she also personified the Moors?)
The fact I didn’t understand may say more about me than the production! While I am reasonably seasoned theatre goer and am passionate about all artful forms of storytelling, I did find the changing characters at times a bit hard to follow.
A vibrant set
The set and costumes matched the vibrancy of the performances. This is clearly a well-funded production which I applaud – there’s rarely enough money for the arts. And props were used effectively to describe what can be a convoluted cast of characters and how they are related. Small chalkboards represented headstones to explain when a character died, and as is the case with Wuthering Heights that’s pretty much everyone.
The ingenuity of using books fluttering on long poles to represent birds was delightful but hand puppets representing wild dogs and the characters as children did not add to the plot.
In this day and age with the constant, fast-paced gratification of social media, maybe this type of fragmentation is acceptable.
But the proof of successful theatre is always in the audience reaction, and one quarter of the packed theatre gave a robust standing ovation… so what do I know? Maybe I’m just too much of a Bronte purist to see it played with.
Wuthering Heights is at the Ros Packer Theatre until February 15.
