Nick's Rehearsal Commentary

The cast were shown a model of the set design created by Bob Stewart. There will be a raised back area which will act as the attic with a back door way as well as exits on either side.

During the picnic scene which establishes Rochester’s connection to Adele, a flashback scene was created to show his past with her mother. At this point, Alice playing Adele was keen to clarify the change her character goes through as Rochester does state in this scene that she has been transformed.

One of the problems of working on a play with so much physical action is that injuries can occur. This is particularly the case with scenes involving characters acting violently. There is a scene where Grace Poole has to drag Bertha off Rochester and she fights back. Both Paula and Kate spent a good twenty minutes alone choreographing this sequence in order to make sure the scene looks convincing without any of the actors getting hurt. It is another example of how even the shortest moments in the play require a significant amount of rehearsing to get absolutely correct.

For the party scene at Thornfield, Karen was keen to utilise every actor in the cast to create a lively atmosphere. In this scene, we are introduced to Blanche played by Faye and later on Mason played by Pete. Blanche is attracted to Rochester which provokes tremendous jealously from Jane. In this scene, a number of characters are vying for attention. Blanche is clearly the centre of attention although Adele is competing with her. Both Faye and Daniele playing Mrs Fairfax wanted to establish their movements and positioning in this scene.

For the opening scene Paula and Daisy, playing Bertha and Jane worked on movements involving painting and drawings with Bertha opening up Jane’s imagination. For the first time, there was an in-depth discussion regarding the characters, particularly Jane and Rochester. Jeremy felt that Rochester was trapped seeking some redemption which Jane could offer. Daisy felt that Jane was very wary of her emotions and her growing love towards Rochester. Both actors were interested in creating some key moments where the affection between them becomes apparent. These scenes were played out in a variety of different moods to see what worked best for each character.

Rochester: Where did you come from?

Rochester: I am disposed to be gregarious tonight Miss Eyre.

Jane: You may do as you please.

Jane: I don’t think sir you have the right to command me merely because you are older than I.

The four lines above are all key moments in this scene. They demonstrate Rochester’s desire to understand Jane and her growing confidence in answering him.

Nick Shelton

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

Cast List
Many, many thanks to everyone who auditioned.  I've seen some extremely talented performers over the last week. 

The final cast list is as follows:
Jane Daisy Barrett Nash
Bertha Paula Wall
Rochester/John Jeremy Wyatt
Mrs Reed/Mrs Fairfax Daniele Harford
Blanche/Helen/Diana Faye Lindsey
Adele/Abigail/Girl in Market Alice Winstanley
Bessie/Grace/Mary/Woman Kate Owen
Mason/Brocklehurst Pete Smith
St John/Ingram/Pilot Daniel Wilby

Auditions
Auditions are this week.
Tomorrow night at 7.30 in the rehearsal room
Sunday 22nd 3pm in the Studio
Please be aware that I will be seeing people in pairs/small groups so there may some waiting around to do.

Audition Pieces
I will be selecting from the following scenes in the auditions:

Script: Jane Eyre by Polly Teale, Nick Hern Books

Scene 1 (after John enters) p.9 Jane, Bertha, John, Bessie, Abigail, Mrs Reed
Scene 2 p.14 Jane, Mrs Reed, Brocklehurst
Scene 7 p. 21 Jane
Scene 8 & 9 p.22 - 24 (ending before Rochester's entrance) Adele, Jane, Mrs Fairfax, Grace Poole
Scene 13 p.30 Jane, Rochester, Adele, Bertha
Scene 16 p.30 Jane (soliloquy only)
Scene 19 p.45 Jane, Rochester (as gypsy)
Scene 24 p.43 Jane, Rochester
Scene 31/32 p.71 Jane, Diana, Mary, St John

Which scenes I select will be depend on the numbers of people auditioning and the parts they wish to be considered for.

Mutliple Roles
With the exception of Jane and Bertha I will be casting actors in multiple roles.  I have had a few enquiries from people about playing specific roles such as Adele or Mrs Fairfax.  If you are cast you will be expected to play more than one part and more than one age.  The actress playing 8 year old Adele for example, may also play the adult servant Abigail and will need to be able to do both French and English accents.  I will make this clear at the familiarisation/auditions.  The doubling, however, is not fixed and I will make a final decision on this once I have auditioned.

Alternative Audition
I am auditioning a few people on Monday 16th Jan AFTER the familiarisation who are unable to make either of the audition dates of 18 or 22 Jan.  If you would like to audition on Mon 16 because you are UNABLE  to make the audition dates please contact me BEFOREHAND.

Rehearsal Schedule
Rehearsals will start on Mon 30 Jan with a read through for all cast.  For the first two weeks rehearsals will be on Weds 1st, Fri 3rd and Weds 8th Feb with no rehearsals the week commencing Mon 13th.  From 21st Feb rehearsals will be every Tues and Weds eve at 7.30 and Sunday at 10am.

Audition Venue Change
The audition scheduled for Sunday 22nd Jan is now in the studio instead of the rehearsal room.   It is still at 3pm.