Dance Review: Northern Ballet’s Jane Eyre

I first read Jane Eyre when I was 12 and it remains my favourite novel. To witness its transformation into ballet felt like a risky endeavour, but I shouldn’t have worried. This is after all a Northern Ballet production, and Jane Eyre in their hands is tenderly delivered as a passionate and powerful depiction of this much beloved, classic novel.

The glorious intimacy of Nottingham Theatre Royal frames a curtained backdrop, denoting the undulating landscape of the Yorkshire Moors and a simplicity which gives this production its strength. Allowing the starkly angled movement of the dancers to deliver the subtleties of this complex story. 

Nothing of the book’s narrative is lost, which is a feat to behold in a two-hour production. In the first act we are taken from Janes orphaned childhood, through her friendship with Helen Burns, danced by Sena Kitan, and the devastation for her friend’s death. The young Jane danced by Alessandra Bramante is seamlessly morphed into adult Jane, danced by Amber Lewis, in a superb act of visual storytelling. Ending at Thornfield Hall, the first act has Jane having met Mr Rochester, danced by Joseph Taylor. 

For me, this book was never a love story, it was always about class, female independence, and the challenges of navigating a life with integrity. What is startling about Northern Ballet production is how it manages to communicate tender and turbulent emotions through small deliberate acts. The determined clenching of Janes fists, the lighting in the institution, the merging of the piano and violin and the choreographed exchanges between Jane and Mr Rochester delivering an almost unnoticed sense of equal forces meeting. I sat amongst people who were either novices to the story or, like me, fiercely protective of it, and we were all entranced.

In the second act we have an unfolding story of hopes dashed by the entrance of a raging woman in red, Bertha Mason, Mr Rochester’s very much alive, first wife. Danced by Gemma Coutts in a character sympathetically imagined. All of the women in this production have agency, which is a welcome deviation from over worn l subservient depictions, to be found in many ballet productions. Heartbroken, Jane leaves the house to wander the moors, and navigate her own future

The narrative power of Cathy Marston’s direction and choreography cannot be overplayed. Throughout both acts, Jane is accompanied by an ensemble of male dancers, who would, in more traditional ballets, often be female. Their presence offers a sense of the challenges she faces, a society pulling her back, or blocking her way. All of which she gets past. On other occasions we see them as reflecting the turmoil which engulfs her.

The ballet ends with Jane standing on the stage and Mr Rochester behind her. The light dimming until we all we see is her. This is after all the story of Jane Eyre, and it rightly ends with her in centre stage.

It is difficult to elevate one dancer over another in this production. They are so often intertwined and reliant upon each other. Mrs Fairfax, danced by Harriet Marden, delights with her fussing feet, but credit must go to Amber Lewis as Jane Eyre, who is rarely off the stage throughout the production. In a seemly effortless performance, she delivers a poignancy with an enormous effort of artistry and stamina.   

I am not someone who would usually choose to go to ballet and I left with a sense of having been transformed by the experience. The privilege of seeing the beauty and skill of these dancers in Nottingham, accompanied by the music of a live orchestra astounds me. If you think that ballet is not your thing, I would challenge you to give Northern Ballet a go. I know it was a Tuesday night, but there were some empty seats at the Theatre Royal and it would be a tragedy if our city lost its access to this level of artistic brilliance.

Northern Ballet’s Jane Eyre plays at Nottingham's Theatre Royal until Saturday 12th April.