Jane Eyre, Green Opera at the Grimeborn Festival

John Joubert’s Jane Eyre, written with librettist Kenneth Birkin over a decade between 1987 and 1997, has had a long journey to the stage. Now, at the Arcola Theatre’s Grimeborn Festival, Green Opera presents it as an intimate chamber production under Eleanor Burke’s direction, with Kenneth Woods conducting a small but polished ensemble. It’s a taut two-act adaptation, stripping Brontë’s novel to its emotional core, though some choices are more effective than others.

The staging is visually striking: suspended props, books, keys, and branches hover above a blood-red tapestry woven by Bertha Mason in her attic. Red threads wind through the action, symbolising fate, passion and entrapment, though at times this imagery feels overworked and even confusing. Emeline Beroud’s minimalist set and sombre Georgian costumes create atmosphere, but the settings often blur together, giving little sense of place. Trui Malten’s lighting is evocative, with cool shadows flaring into warm golds, while Alex Gotch’s movement direction lends Bertha a ghostly, ever-present menace.

Musically, Joubert’s score is complex and often dissonant, with occasional lyrical swells. The seven-piece ensemble delivers it with precision, but in the Arcola’s intimate space, balance is critical, and not always achieved. Laura Mekhail’s Jane has a strong, glittering soprano with real dramatic bite, but her singing often felt overpowered for such a venue. She struggled to scale back her projection, which sometimes overwhelmed both her colleagues and the score’s subtler moments. Hector Bloggs makes an imposing yet vulnerable Rochester, shaping his baritone with dynamic control, shifting between authority and tenderness. Steffi Fashokun’s silent Bertha is a haunting physical presence, though Joubert’s score leaves her voiceless, a missed opportunity to deepen the drama. Anna Sideris, Emily Hodkinson and Lawrence Thackeray bring polish to smaller roles, with Thackeray doubling effectively as both a stern headmaster and the domineering St John Rivers.

The production’s greatest strength lies in its intensity: the proximity of the singers, the pared-back staging, and the focus on Jane’s emotional journey all draw the audience in. Yet this closeness also exposes its weaknesses: moments of forced symbolism, the occasional drift in storytelling clarity, and the underuse of parts of the cast.

On originality, Burke’s direction scores highly, with its continual presence of Bertha and the woven tapestry motif. Complexity is built into Joubert’s music, though it risks alienating those unused to its angular lines. Storytelling is engaging but uneven, and competency – in both performance and design – is strong, if not flawless.

Image credit: Green Opera