It is nearing the beginning of the Christmas holidays, and what could be a better way to finish the long Winter term than watching the middle school production of 'Jane Eyre'? The play is based on the Charlotte Brontë novel, which follows the story of a seemingly plain and simple orphan girl and her life at Thornfield Hall, as she attempts to battle through life's various struggles. Highgate’s production, however, is actually an adaptation of the show 'Jane Eyre' by Polly Teale.
The experienced director, Ms Fehr, was appointed to take charge of the middle school production, and when asked about how the idea of putting on 'Jane Eyre' occurred to her, she recalled: “It was one of my favourite novels as a teenager. The red room, Mrs Reed, Lowood and the mad woman in the attic were the stuff of horror stories, and I loved that.” She believed that Teale’s adaptation was “genius…[showing] Jane’s inner fire & passion and how she has to suppress this in order to survive as a Victorian woman”. She described a theatre performance she watched and how that gave her inspiration for how she wanted to direct and design the stage, mentioning that she “loved the staging and the different levels, giving a sense of Jane’s journey. I loved the chorus too. I always love a chorus!”. Other members of staff have also been instrumental in bringing her creative vision to life, for example Ms Sloan, who has been "a huge help in imagining the design of the show.”
Of course, every production needs talented actors from different years, who were willing to dedicate a huge amount of time to put on a tremendous play. Ms Fehr commented on the selection process, stating that “It was hard because I had such a strong cohort of pupil auditions! I was looking for creativity and good ensemble work in the improvisations and a good sense of the characters in the script audition.”
And with that, the Thursdays and Fridays after school commenced. They were slow and steady to start, but eventually, the words on the page began to come to life and little by little to take formation on the floor of the drama studio. Thursdays and Fridays were not the only sacrifices, however: as the opening night loomed closer, weekend rehearsals were also needed. Tired students, lugging tote bags of work and Tesco sandwiches, arrived in school on a Sunday morning to do the first full run of the show. Miraculously, there was a relatively minimal amount of knocking over of props and getting entangled within the black curtains. One of the struggles of this particular production however was the nasty virus travelling around, which seemed to be taking turns picking which cast member should be its next victim. Actors therefore had to adapt somewhat during rehearsals, and could often be seen directing their mesmerising acting towards chairs. The cast still have some final touches of lines to learn- some have even made a Quizlet to help the repetitive process move swiftly along- but everything seems to be coming together neatly in time for the performance.
So, if you would like a theatre treat to close the term in fashion, and welcome you into the Christmas holidays, then come along to the drama studio on the week of the 12th of December, Tuesday-Thursday, to see the “fresh, modern, well-paced and extremely well-acted” production of 'Jane Eyre'. Hurry to parent portal to book those tickets before it’s too late!
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