A  REVIEW

(Taken from the May Newsletter)

‘BRONTȄ’

By Polly Teale

Directed by Stevie Reeve

 

Adjudicated by

Paul Mills - Guild of Drama Adjudicators

 

 

This was a difficult play both for the Director, the Actors, the Staging and not least the Audience.  Characters slipped back and forth intime; in and out of fact and fiction. (Stephen Dandridge, the sister’s brother, played two characters from their books whilst Vernon Reeve a further one plus the real curate and the sister’s Belgian tutor.)

There were no lead roles in the conventional sense. Even Coralie Hughes and Angela Patrick playing Cathy from ‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘Bertha’ from ’Jane Eyre’, playing smaller parts, produced formidable  performances.

The three brilliant but deeply troubled sisters; Charlotte - Jo Reader, Emily -  Tina Gallagher and Anne - Jane Barton were well cast. Their performances grabbed the audiences as their character’s emotions swung from elation, to frustration, to despair; from family loyalty, love and devotion to anger and sibling rivalry.

Vernon Reeve as the Rev. Bronte was a calming influence within the family and he convincingly switched between him, the rather smarmy curate, the girls tutor and the two-timing Rochester.

Stephen Dandridge, the sisters brother Branwell believably slid from great promise and expectation to total,  dissolute failure  before our eyes.

The open - plan and suitably bleak set with the atmospheric back drop complemented the story, aided by the skilful lighting by John Sewell.

The vision of director Stevie Reeve was then ably realised in an evening of real drama.

BRONTȄ 3