Jane Eyre: a Musical – an intimate Brontë adaptation that misses the novel’s darkness

By Sophie Gilmartin, Emeritus Reader in English, Royal Holloway, University of London

Jane Eyre may describe herself as “plain, and little”, but how do you make a little musical about a literary heroine who looms so large? That question lies at the heart of Jane Eyre: a Musical, currently on at London’s Southwark Playhouse.

Adapted by John Caird and Paul Gordon from Charlotte Brontë’s novel, the production has itself undergone a process of dramatic reduction, from a lavish 30-member cast in a large theatre in 1996 to this intimate “chamber” version.

Caird’s justification for…

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