Thanks to its dynamic pacing and stellar performances, Emily Bronte’s WUTHERING HEIGHTS is given a chilling, gothic and immersive retelling by Midnight Circle Productions.
Emily Bronte’s gripping drama, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, undergoes a chilling gothic retelling set against the backdrop of London’s Stephens House & Gardens.
This powerful, dramatic, and subtly immersive play effectively draws on the psychological elements of the story. As with all Midnight Circle productions, this immersive experience involves travelling with the cast through the story, which unfolds through Nelly’s flashback storytelling to Lockwood. The tale of love, betrayal, and occasional cruelty at Wuthering Heights centres on the characters of Heathcliff and Cathy (Catherine).
Through their unique interpretation of WUTHERING HEIGHTS, Midnight Circle breathes life into this classical story, often left to the confines of academic study. The production enables the audience to really understand the characters, their complicated bonds, personalities, flaws, and restrictions, which are often a result of societal rules at the time. The close proximity of the audience to the characters allows for a deep emotional connection.
The venue, a Grade II listed house surrounded by beautiful trees and gardens, perfectly replicates the setting of Wuthering Heights. Due to the weather, this performance was moved indoors to the house’s drawing room, and props were used to create the relevant scenes as much as possible on such short notice. While the lack of a real garden, crucial to visualising this play, was a small drawback, it was somewhat compensated by sound effects of bird noises and running water. However, the acting was so strong that the sound effects, especially the running water, were often more distracting than necessary.
The play begins strongly with Mr Lockwood entering a scene where Cathy Linton and Hareton Earnshaw joke around. The initial scenes are frantic and somewhat confusing for those unfamiliar with the story. However, once Nelly begins her role as storyteller, it becomes clear that this was intentional to pique the audience’s curiosity.
From this point, the powerful scenes and dynamic pacing keep the audience ever-engaged and eager to know what happens next. The interactions between characters and their performances make the audience invested in each one.
Every actor plays their role perfectly, and the casting is well-matched for each part. They combined emotion, drama, and even a bit of humour. Renny Mendoza’s portrayal of Heathcliff is outstanding. He effectively combines ruggedness, ruthlessness, vulnerability and manipulation smoothly as his character develops. Niamh Handley-Vaughan, as Cathy, uses her eyes to convey her character’s emotions, while Nadia Lamin’s voice effectively portrays her character’s transition from child to adult, maintaining the fun but somewhat immature and sheltered personality.
Every actor’s diction is clear, their voices loud, and their acting and singing impressive and appropriate to their characters. The consistent use of the Northern Yorkshire accent is fitting for the time and location of the original play. The handling of the psychological elements, such as ghosts, amplified baby crying, and other voices, left no doubt about the characters’ experiences.
There are very few negatives in this performance. One is the overly loud and distracting flowing water noise, which wouldn’t have been included had the play not been moved inside. Another challenge is signalling the play’s end; the off-stage clapping seems like it needs to be corrected.
WUTHERING HEIGHTS runs for another month, travelling around the country, and is not to be missed. While designed for outdoor settings, it could easily be adapted for indoor venues with the audience seated around the cast, enhancing the immersive experience. This would allow larger audiences to enjoy what is truly a fantastic and unmissable adaptation, possibly the best by Midnight Circle yet.
WUTHERING HEIGHTS runs at various locations (as touring) until 28 July 2024.
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