Theatre / Bristol old vic
Jane Eyre: winter revival at National and BOV
Sally Cookson and Bristol Old Vic’s acclaimed 2014 Jane Eyre will be revived at the National Theatre later this year, before returning to Bristol early next year.
The NT will revive Cookson’s much-praised adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s novel under its new Director, Rufus Norris.
The news follows a record-breaking autumn season at BOV, as the theatre welcomed nearly 60,000 visitors and regularly played to sell-out audiences. The theatre is now gearing up towards its 250th anniversary celebrations next year, and is halfway through its redevelopment project.
Jane Eyre was presented in two parts at Bristol Old Vic and ran for eight weeks in Feb-March 2014, drawing in total audiences of 13,500 and receiving five-star reviews from the nationals.
A Bristol Old Vic Associate Artist, Cookson’s previous work at the theatre includes her innovative productions of Peter Pan, The Boy Who Cried Wolf and Treasure Island. She co-founded BOV’s Young Company and has also worked with Travelling Light and Tobacco Factory Theatres – most recently with both on the brilliant 101 Dalmatians.
She said: “[BOV Artistic Director] Tom Morris and everyone at Bristol Old Vic took an enormous risk by agreeing to produce Jane Eyre and supporting me with total belief in the project.
“We had no idea when we were making the show whether it would work – we felt so totally up against the wire in terms of time and it was an enormous challenge in every possible way. But the blood, sweat and tears provided by the actors, the creative and technical teams paid off – and the show that emerged is something that we’re all very proud of.
“The National Theatre’s invitation is not only a validation of the devising process but an affirmation that regional theatre is making exciting, risk-taking work. We’re all tremendously excited to take the show to London – but we’re just as excited to be bringing it back to Bristol where it began its epic journey.”
The revival of Jane Eyre will take place in Rufus Norris’ first year at the National Theatre, as he replaces Nicholas Hytner as Director. Norris has also appointed Tom Morris as an Associate Director as part of a new approach by the National Theatre to develop strong partnerships with regional theatres, with BOV being the first theatre to have a formal relationship of this kind.
The NT’s Jane Eyre revival will run at the Lyttleton Theatre in September 2015 as a co-production with Bristol Old Vic. It will then return to BOV in January 2016.
For more info on BOV’s Jane Eyre, visit www.bristololdvic.org.uk/janeeyre
For more info on the theatre’s redevelopment, visit www.bristololdvic.org.uk/redevelopment.html
Pics: Simon Annand
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