Nick's Rehearsal Commentary

First Rehearsals

When the first rehearsals began, it became very apparent the planning and blocking out of scenes will not be straight forward and will require constant experimentation and re-working. The actors are not only playing multiple roles but also animals and props and also providing sound effects. Bringing all these elements into a cohesive shape is a task that will need developing over the next few months. The opening rehearsal covered the first meeting between Jane and Rochester where she helps him after he falls off his horse. Both actors were keen to establish their characters attitudes during this meeting and their next conversation at Thornfield. Jane is reserved and reticent. Rochester is originally cold to her but then seems more inquisitive as the scene develops. He asks Jane whether she has ever loved someone, a key exchange emphasising the age gap and experience between the characters.

The second rehearsal moved on to the opening scene of the play where Jane as a child is reading a book. Here Bertha is established as an imaginary character as she interacts with Jane. This scene contains a lot of physical movements. What is amazing about this scene is the constant change of Bertha’s attitude towards Jane. At first she is guiding her, opening up her imagination. Then she is acting out Jane’s fantasies drawing her in. When John Reed enters the scene, Bertha becomes defensive and then attacks him on Jane’s behalf. Once the two characters are locked away, Bertha cajoles and berates her for not standing up to her oppressors and Jane tries to silence her. Finally Bertha becomes desperate as she is separated from Jane. It is an incredibly dramatic opening that will hopefully pull the audience headlong into the play.

The third rehearsal concentrated on a scene in the second act which looks back at Rochester and Bertha’s first meeting in the West Indies. In this scene, we see Rochester and Bertha in their younger guises, much different from the characters we have seen up to this point. The tone of this scene is completely at odds with the rest of the play. The characters are more sensual, alive and free of all social restrictions. This was a chance for the actors to take on something completely different. Although it is a short scene (only a page long), the movement required by the actors was complex and exhausting. What is very encouraging is that all of the actors were prepared to throw themselves into any situation and were comfortable interacting with each other. 

Nick Shelton

Rehearsal Updates
Nick Shelton has kindly offered to post comments about the show throughout rehearsals.  Here are his first two posts.

Introduction

This adaptation of Jane Eyre by Shared experience and Polly Teale has one key difference from other adaptations. The novel contains passages which illuminate Jane’s inner thoughts and this is something that is difficult to create in drama. What Teale has done is to take the character of Bertha (Rochester’s first wife) and make her a manifestation of these very thoughts. Throughout the novel, Bronte wanted to show that Victorian women were punished for showing their passions and desires. Therefore you could see Bertha as the part of Jane that she wants to keep hidden. One of the key components of this adaptation is the constant physical movement throughout the play, particular in the characters of Jane and Bertha. It is important that all the actors involved feel comfortable in using their physicality. This is why the audition process for the play was different from other productions. Those auditioning needed to demonstrate their ability to create physical movements from ideas and words. They also had to show they could improvise quickly and interact with other actors with ease. Important to the success of the project is the need for the actors to work as an ensemble and this is something that will be developed in the early rehearsals.

Script reading

For the first rehearsal, it was decided that there would be a complete read through of the play. This is an opportunity for the actors to become familiar with the script. At this point, stage directions and character movements are put aside to concentrate purely on the text. The novel is over 500 pages long and covers a significant period of time. Teale’s adaptation has stripped down a lot of the dialogue and detail to concentrate on the key moments. Overall the play has 38 scenes which may seem a lot but quite a few of these are very short. The first impression is that these short scenes will give the piece some pace and energy. The actors took this opportunity to get into their roles and try out various accents. Most of the actors will be playing multiple roles so this was the first chance for them to learn to switch easily between these roles. The read through finished quicker than was expected and went fairly smoothly. The challenge in the first rehearsals is to match this text with all the physical movements required.

Nick Shelton