Amrit Virdi
Amrit Virdi shares her thoughts on Wise Children’s clever adaptation of Wuthering Heights as it comes to Nottingham’s Theatre Royal from 26th – 30th April.
With Wuthering Heights being a well-known classic from Romantic author Emily Brontë, and one of my favourite novels, I had to take the opportunity to see Wise Children’s take on the story at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal. With it being quite an intense plot, complicated at times, I was intrigued as to how this would be translated onstage, particularly to people unfamiliar with the story. And it’s safe to say that it didn’t disappoint.
Their talent and ability to switch seamlessly from character to character has to be applauded
Directed by Emma Rice, the plot centres around the story of orphan Heathcliff (Liam Tamne), as he is adopted into the Earnshaw family, and falls deeply in love with Catherine Earnshaw (Lucy McCormick). I’ll spare you the details of the complicated family tree, but the fact that even the cast themselves made humorous quips at the plot’s complexity, was appreciated.
The narration of the story from Stephanie Hockley also aided with this – I definitely would have got lost without it. With the actors playing more than one role each, their talent and ability to switch seamlessly from character to character has to be applauded. The diversity of the cast was also nice to see, especially in an adaption of a novel dating back to 1847.
You could see the hard work of the talented crew behind the scenes really shine
The inclusion of a live band played by Sid Goldsmith, Nadine Lee and Renell Shaw was a great addition, as they used their musical talent to capture and translate the mood onstage fittingly, and provided backing for the cast’s amazing vocals. An impromptu rock moment from McCormick was a particularly nice surprise – it was these additions which made the production engaging in its three-hour length. When paired with the brilliant lighting and staging, which was ideal in its simplicity, you could see the hard work of the talented crew behind the scenes really shine.
‘’Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.’’ The iconic and well-known quote from the novel, and one with true emotion. Which is what the cast certainly conveyed onstage. I was particularly impressed with Lucy McCormick’s take on Catherine Earnshaw, as you could feel the pain in her performance, and her chemistry with Heathcliff.
These moments of humour were definitely necessary
On a light-hearted note, Katy Owen’s performance of Isabella Linton and Linton Heathcliff had the audience in stitches at times. For such a serious story, these moments of humour were definitely necessary. Craig Johnson as Dr Kenneth also brought a sprinkle of fun to the show, as well as humorous moments from Jordan Laviniere.
With a standing ovation from the captivated audience, and unfamiliar audience members saying ‘’I need to read the book’’ as they left the theatre, Emma Rice’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights clearly went down a treat. You can catch the production in Nottingham until Saturday!
Amrit Virdi
Featured image courtesy of Alex Watkin. Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
In-article image courtesy of Amrit Virdi. Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
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