National Theatre/British Old Vic Performance of Jane Eyre at Hull New Theatre
Monday 18 – Saturday 23 September
Back in January we looked at the refurbishment of Hull New Theatre. Almost nine months late and with news reports of unstable working contracts I came originally with the thought of celebrating the birthday of Tony Yaseen, from N Carolina, who is a new friend I hold in high esteem. What a welcome to Hull City of Culture this would have been from distant oceans. It is the first big play to come to the theatre since it opened in September. Instead I chatted to more local theatre fans to see what they thought about the changes in the restaurant and the theatre itself.
Birthday treats seemed to be the order of the day. The seats are more expensive as you veer towards the front, and money is tight in Hull. But I like the down to earth approach throughout in both the restaurant and theatre itself. There is a kind of art nouveau feel to it all. And nothing is too grand meaning it is accessible to all as culture should be.
I hobbled in on two crutches with a moon boot on. I am recovering from a heel spur operation, so I had some perspective from a disabled viewpoint. You come through a modern glass appendage at the front of the building and the Box Office is right to your left if you have to collect tickets. Before you had to climb steps which lead to the theatre entrances and it was pretty inaccessible. I should know my daughter Chloe and I went to see David Essex in All the Fun of the Fair there about five years ago. Everything here is wheelchair friendly now. However there was a shortage of seating in the restaurant area which was a pity as being a matinee performance most the people there were elderly.
Recently a BBC theatre critic programme was slated when a presenter on it admitted he did not often go to the theatre and found it dull. Jane Eyre is based on the romantic period novel by Charlotte Bronte. I happened to study it in detail at University in Belfast. You can visit the house where it was written in the Bronte Parsonage museum in Haworth Yorkshire. Set against moor land. It evokes and is full of passion and emotion. What I love about this production is the extra activities and learning experiences that surround it. The National theatre has workshops in lighting and scene construction and for £180 KS4-5 kids can attend workshops. After the performance there were scripts of the play for sale for £10. I pulled up a chair next to Maureen from West hull as we waited in the restaurant. She’s the one in the pretty and colourful tropical top.
Maureen unlike the BBC critic had been to Hull New Theatre before. Tonight she was with her friend Joyce, also retired and from Cottingham. Tonight was a birthday treat paid for by a daughter. But Maureen had seen Tommy Steel here in Half a Sixpence as a teenager. Joyce the birthday girl is staring out the window at the rain wondering what the afternoon will bring..
The ladies had a bite to eat before I arrived. “It is very reasonable” Maureen told me. She had devoured a double decker sandwich with Yorkshire ham. Joyce had Coronation chicken. The Lite Bites menu was basic but affordable. Jacket potatoes with fillings for £4.75. I paid almost as much as that from a kiosk near the station Mr Spuds though they are very tasty there. Down played dishes like a Fish Finger Butty can be had for the same price as the jacket potato.
I used the lift to get to the first floor stalls and was directed to Seat 1 Row M near an exit and in the disabled area. There was a large wheelchair close to me and plenty of space for people to pass.
The structure of the actual theatre looked much the same but everything is new and the colour theme red and white. Sat behind me were Crystal in the glasses seated behind me and her mother, another Maureen from Hornsey, a Yorkshire seaside town. Crystal had lived in London and seen lots of big productions including My Fair Lady. Though Mum fell to sleep at certain points they both enjoyed the play.
It’s very Northern and gritty. Written in 1847 at a time when women were very limited what they could achieve in life it’s about a woman finding the freedom to be who she is. A well read, clever, articulate woman.
Unusually there were a series of ladders which depict the main house the play is set in where Jane is a governess. There is movement all the time the actors become the train by reflecting the way a train moves for instance. The orchestra were on stage and also acted in between playing everything from accordians to a piano. Flames rose up the stage as the master’s wife set the house alight. But despite a great performance by the lead Nadia Clifford in the first act, all was not well behind the scenes. The stage Director came on at the beginning of the second half and announced Jane would from now on be played by an understudy as the lead has sustained an injury. Presumably swinging like a monkey on the ladders. So the second half was a much more gentle performance. Other actors were interjected at the last moment and had to read from scripts. But hay this is theatre darling you have to improvise.
I enjoyed the loud and at times chaotic mix of music, manic and angry acting interposed with melodic singing at certain points to highlight angst, chiefly by soloist Melaine Marshall.
The lighting was a bit artificial for my taste, but there were laughs here and there and you could hear a pin drop the audience were so spell bound by the fire and brimstone.
I crawled up the slopes and went down the non crutch friendly steps at the front that looked just the same as before the re build. It was raining there were no taxis but I thoroughly enjoyed what I hope will be the first of many national level performances at Hull New Theatre.
