The Cathy Marston's Jane Eyre ballet is now being performed in Copenhagen, Denmark:
Choreographed by Cathy Marston Directed by Chanmin Chung Written by Cathy Marston and Patrick Kinmonth Music by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Franz Schubert, Philip Feeney With Emma Riis-Kofoed, Silvia Selvini, Ryan Tomash, Sebastian Pico Haynes, Katherine Stevens, Penelope Phelan, Carling Talcott-Steenstra, Eukene Sagues, Caroline Baldwin, Ji Min Hong, Alexander Bozinoff, Jón Axel Fransson, Andreas Kaas, Jonathan Chmelensky, Mathieu Rouaux, Isabella Walsh, Stephanie Chen Gundorph. Det Kongelige Teater og Kapel, Refshalevej 173A, 1432 København, Denmark Old Stage October 30 - November 11, 20.00h /12.00h (October 31) Poster foto: Klaus Vedfelt
Profound love, painful jealousy and dark secrets. Master choreographer Cathy Marston breathes new life into one of literature’s greatest novels. After a troubled childhood in the care of a harsh foster family, the young orphan Jane Eyre resolves to shape her own destiny. Seeking independence, she trains as a teacher and accepts a position as governess at Thornfield Hall. There, her encounter with the enigmatic master of the house, Edward Rochester, proves fateful. Though seemingly ill matched, the two fall deeply in love. Yet Jane soon discovers that Rochester harbours a hidden sorrow – a secret powerful enough to threaten their happiness. Charlotte Brontë, the author of Jane Eyre and the eldest of the three renowned Brontë sisters, caused a sensation when her Gothic novel was published in 1847. Its brooding atmosphere and supernatural undercurrents captivated Victorian readers. Equally striking was its heroine: intelligent, resolute and quietly rebellious – a new and compelling portrait of a woman’s longing and inner struggle. In recent years, English choreographer Cathy Marston has established herself as one of ballet’s most compelling narrative voices. In Jane Eyre, she unfolds the heroine’s eventful life in a work that is at once an intimate and emotionally charged chamber drama and a sweeping, full-scale narrative ballet.
Inspired by the news of Jane Eyre now being a mandatory read for teenagers in China, a contributor to The New Indian Express discusses several aspects of the novel. So, the novel asks a more interesting question. Can a person love deeply without losing herself? Jane’s answer is yes, but only on certain terms. She leaves when staying would cost her moral independence. She returns only when things have changed. Here her inheritance matters. Independence is not just a matter of courage. Money changes her position. Once she is financially secure, going back to Rochester is a choice and not a necessity. Rochester, for his part, has lost much of his earlier power. Jane’s financial independence and Rochester’s changed circumstances alter the balance of their relationship, bringing them closer to equality. This is also why the novel can be read beyond the question of female independence. Love, in Brontë’s telling, is something Jane chooses and not something she surrenders to. A young woman can ask what independence means in a relationship. A young man can ask what equality demands of him. Rochester is charming and emotionally gripping, but he is also used to having his way. He withholds the truth from Jane and tries to set the terms of their life together. The novel does make him face those limits, and it offers a useful distinction between love and possession. Still, there is a reason not to treat this as a simple feminist text. What happens to Bertha Mason? We hear Jane’s voice throughout the book. Bertha hardly has one. Rochester’s first wife is locked in the attic and described mostly through the language of madness and monstrosity. Later writers have asked what the story looks like from her side. Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea is the best-known example. It brings race, colonialism, and gender into questions that Jane Eyre does not fully examine. I will admit that for years, I did not push this question hard enough in my own classes. I spoke about Bertha, but mostly as a plot device or a symbol. It was easier to stay with Jane. That, I think, is the real lesson of my reaction to the Chinese decision. Familiarity can make us lazy. We teach a classic through the same categories each time, such as feminism, patriarchy, romance and Victorian society, and we stop looking for what is new. The text remains the same, but our reading of it need not. A classic should not enter a classroom carrying one approved meaning. Students should be free to admire Jane and also to question her. They should understand Rochester without excusing him. They should ask why Bertha is denied the space Jane gets. And they should connect the book to their own experience of family, school, work and relationships. In that sense, teaching a classic is not simply about passing on an established interpretation. It is also about teaching students how to read critically. This is important because many young people encounter ideas about love through films, social media and stories they read online. These tend to offer quick answers. Literature can offer something slower. It lets a reader stay with a complicated human situation and look at it from more than one side. That, to my mind, is the book’s real value for a young reader today. It does not hand over the right model of love or independence. It refuses to separate the two questions. Jane wants to be free, and she also wants to love. She wants equality without giving up closeness. The novel does not settle that tension. It makes it part of growing up. Nearly two centuries later, that tension still feels familiar. Perhaps that is why readers in China, India and elsewhere keep returning to Jane. And perhaps this is why a decision made in Beijing is worth a second look for teachers in Indian classrooms. My first answer was “So what?” I no longer think that was the right one. (John J Kennedy)
The Guardian takes a closer look at lighting in theatre productions guided by designer Aideen Malone. Do all directors understand lighting? “Not to name any names,” she grins, “but some are very visual, and some aren’t.” She prefers “somebody with nerves of steel who is prepared to try stuff” – like Sally Cookson, with whom she devised hit shows such as Jane Eyre and A Monster Calls. “Devised work is nerve-racking,” says Malone, “because you don’t know what you’ve got till the last week of rehearsals. You have to figure it out once you’re in the space.” (David Jays) The Stage publishes the obituary of the theatre composer Simon Webb who In 1986, he wrote the music for Peter Coe’s production of Jane Eyre, with Keith Michell and Jenny Seagrove, at Chichester Festival Theatre. (Nick Smurthwaite) A new production of Jane Eyre opens tomorrow, October 28, in Ottawa, Canada:
Written by Erin Shields, based on the novel by Charlotte Brontë October 28 – November 14, 2026 Wednesdays to Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Matinee: Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Ottawa Little Theatre, 400 King Edward Ave, Ottawa, ON K1N 7M7, Canada
Directed by Lindsay Laviolette With Lauren Reisig, Josh Sparks, Meara Gordon, Jorge Corichi Herrejón, Aili McNamara-Kilian, Sierra Sparks, Erin Hetherington, Jennifer Rowberry, Victoria Windrem, Thomas Jestin, Sharon Bernbaum, Laasya Kandula, Susanna Doherty, Sheila Burpee Duncan, Michael Clarke, Geneviève Audet, Megan Hepburn, Christina Roman, Gabrielle Dumonceaux.
Charlotte Brontë’s haunting novel comes to the stage in a new adaptation by one of Canada’s most exciting playwrights. Erin Shields brings a sharp, witty, feminist perspective to this timeless story of an accomplished, outspoken young woman overcoming the odds to rise to her potential and claim love on her own terms.
Town and Country recommends '35 Best Classic Fall Books for a Cozy Autumn Read' including Jane Eyre Jane Eyre begins on a dreary November day—“There was no possibility of taking a walk that day...”—setting the tone for the gothic novel. Autumn remains a key backdrop throughout the novel, including when she travels to Thronfield [sic] Hall for the first time (her first morning there was “a fine autumn morning”). It’s a definitive autumn classic. (Any Brontë novel, honestly, makes great fall reading.) (Emily Burack)
Speaking of anniversaries, today October 26 marks 177 years since the publication of Charlotte Brontë's Shirley.
Via The Belfast Telegraph, we have become aware of this new initiative to revitalize the Brontë heritage in County Down, Northern Ireland:
The famous Brontë sisters’ links to Co Down are to be brought to life in the former church near Rathfriland where their clergyman father preached as a young man.Although the local council took over the Drumballyroney Church building in the 90s and turned it into the Brontë Interpretive Centre, financial constraints meant it opened infrequently, leaving fans of the literary family, who travelled to the church, often disappointed to find the doors locked.However, that is about to change thanks to a local heritage group. (Anne Harper) We are a group of volunteers working to restore the Brontë Interpretative Centre as a vibrant community hub. We are planning a year- round programme of events and activities that celebrate the unique heritage of Rathfriland and the Iveagh Region. The next event they're organizing is %20(2).jpg) Halloween @ Drumballyroney Old Church
31st October, 8pm
Drumballyroney Old Church and graveyard dates back to at least the C12th. It sits atop the Hill of the O'Rooneys (bards and poets to the the Magennis Lords of Iveagh) But the bards were much more than storytellers! They were 'seers' who brought the Otherworld to life through their art, oration, and ceremony. This is a legacy which continued at Drumballyroney following the arrival of Christianity.
So what stories still linger here in this quiet, threshold place?
Join us at Drumballyroney Old Church for an evening of seasonal stories and tales of the Otherworld. You will:
Learn about the ancient origins of our Halloween traditions, and ways to protect yourself when the veil is thin!
Try your hand at some long-forgotten seasonal pass-times.
Hear tales old (& new!) of fairies, Banshees, and other supernatural beings.
Learn about of Rathfriland's famous 'Hell Fire' Club, and the story of the real 'Squire Hawkins' (was there just one?).
Sample the 'Devil's Buttermilk' - made to a recipe preserved by the very same storytellers who preserved the tales of the Hell Fire Club and it's patrons.
Learn about the role of the bard/druid/storyteller in ancient times and how they engaged with the Otherworld.
Explore the atmospheric Old Church, and hear about the ancestors buried here including the Brontë family and the Magennis Lords of Iveagh.
It will be a real night to remember!
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