Nick's Rehearsal Commentary

Character analysis

Some of the supporting actors (Pete, Faye, Daniele, Alice) went away to do some character work. Each actor is playing more than one role so the need to distinguish between these in the play is crucial. As well as playing out their key scenes, the actors went back to the book to see if there were any details they could incorporate into their roles. Some of the characters are only in a few scenes and so the challenge is to establish them as soon as possible and bring their back story into focus.

Pete felt that Mason was a weak character, a complete opposite to Rochester. This would need to come across when he interrupts the marriage to reveal the crucial secret. He also comes across as quite mysterious and a discussion took place about what kind of accent he would have. Pete said that he would go away and work on this. His other role, Mr Brocklehurst is a fiery and pious teacher. Should he played as completely cruel? In his own mind, he thinks he is saving Jane with his behaviour towards her. He needs to played with fierceness to show his effect on her without going too over the top.

Alice wanted to clarify about her character Adele and how she changes over the course of the play. The arrival of Jane clearly fills her with joy as she can now communicate with someone. But there is also the frustration she shows while learning English and the spoilt nature of her background comes into the picture. Daniele was keen to get to grips with her role as Mrs Fairfax. She worked on a number of different accents but also wanted to look into her history and how she ended up in Thornfield.  After running through a few scenes, she decided to play her softer with more warmth towards Jane and a desire to make sure everything at Thornfield runs smoothly. Faye felt comfortable with her characterisation of Blanche as someone who is self obsessed and wants to be the centre of attention of everything. She did have questions about her other character Helen Burns. Would someone that young be so strong willed? This led to an interesting discussion about how back then young children did come across as wise beyond their years.