Brontë, Smock Alley Theatre

Polly Teale poses a question before the actors merge into their characters: How did the Brontë spinsters create such passionate and romantic work, and had their life been different would the work have been produced at all? It is one of those 'what if' questions that has no real answer, but can have a multitude of scenarios. That is not the case but as an introduction it allows us to wonder, just before their story comes to life as the actors break into Yorkshire accents, bringing us into the kitchen of the Brontë house, how they were and the conversations they might have had. 

The house is full of books, with papers and pencils littering the kitchen table, manuscripts of different sizes, being read or worked on, while an awareness of the outdoors is created through the trees and hawk. The three, Anne, Charlotte and Emily, are all different. Charlotte seems the more practical, told by her father, Patrick, that she is now the oldest and so must look after them, she takes it to heart. The harshness of life is all around, death arriving at a young age, illness, or the hazards of working in factories. 

Anne seems more conscious of the wider world around her, wanting to right it, but feeling her worries are not as harsh as others, like the weaver who lost his arm. Emily is more at home on the moors by herself and with her hawk, not one for wearing petticoats. And while their father, who published sermons and books himself, encourages them to read anything they could, the social times are not conducive to that, as they are not allowed into the library. In fact, being so talented and well read, society, as they observe, provides no other option for employment other then Governess, a job they take on, but last very little at, and like even less. 

Everything, like most households, takes place in the kitchen, even the writing and the confrontation with Branwell as he descends into alchoholism and paranoia. As a man, he has the chance of an education, leaving the house, going to London, but his demons get the better of him, and like his sisters, he tries to write, but does not achieve their success. And when success does come for the Brontë's, it is not under their own name, but that of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. The writing success provides a lighter moment as reviews are posted to them, and when it is revealed to their publisher that they are not men, but women writers.

The idea of being captive physically or mentally comes through strong in Teale's play, underlined by the extracts from the various books. Here characters like Cathy and Heathcliff yearn for something they cannot have, be it passion or freedom, something Teale connects with in the sister's own lives. These are represented very well, becoming an other worldly, artistic moment, the table becoming a stage in it's own right under the direction of Clare Maguire. Each extract echoes the moment in the play, the idea that what was written came from the trials and tribulations from inside their own world; their own passions and dreams finding form and freedom, but only through the written word and the printed page. 

It is difficult to highlight one particular actor, as they all work well and strongly, creating a different character for each sister, and a compelling Branwell and Patrick. In the extract moments, Ashleigh Dorrell wastes no movement, and thankfully doesn't rush them either, letting the motion run effortlessly and artistically, down and out of her fingertips, bringing us into the books, and out of the play for that moment, in a hypnotic way, lit wonderfully well it must be added. There is also great attention to detail, and costumes that help bring us to that time and place. It is one of those productions that, like reading a great novel, makes you forget about the outside world; the only world that matters is the one in front of us.