Wuthering Heights is coming home to Yorkshire with an outdoor theatrical adaptation of the classic Emily Bronte novel at Oakwell Hall Country Park later this month.
The performance by the Chapterhouse Theatre Company is part of the Open-air Garden Theatre Tour of the UK and Ireland, which takes in a number of beauty spots in the North, including Helmsley castle, Wentworth Castle and Mount Grace Priory. The aim is to produce magical theatre in a magical setting.
This is Chapterhouse’s 15th year touring and bringing to life some of literature’s best-known and best-loved classics. The company has a particular fondness for Jane Austen. This summer, however, it is producing six shows, including A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Jungle Book.
Wuthering Heights is the company’s first foray into the dramatic world of the Brontes. Script writer Laura Turner says the book is one of her all-time favourite novels and she was honoured to be given the chance to adapt it for the stage. She explained: “When Chapterhouse asked me to write an adaptation of Wuthering Heights I was really thrilled because I first read the novel when I was 14 and had a really strong reaction.
“It’s a bit like Marmite, people either love it or hate it, and I fell in love. It’s a challenging story to adapt, spanning two generations, but I hope I have managed to instil all the passion and wildness of Emily Bronte’s masterpiece and that people fall for Catherine and Heathcliff just as I have.”
Rebecca Gadsby, director, describes Laura’s script as ‘gritty’ and ‘captivating’. “Having some dark melodrama to work on will be inspiring and very exciting,” she said.
The story of enduring love and passion set against the backdrop of the wild Yorkshire moors around the Bronte’s home in Haworth can be seen on Wednesday, August 13, at 7.30pm. Tickets are from £10 to £14, from www.seetickets.com or by calling 0871 2200260.
Learn how to spin wool, wear a flat cap and eat a black pudding at the Oakwell Hall Yorkshire Day celebrations on Sunday.The event, to promote England’s largest county, is a celebration of all things Yorkshire and will include performances by Shepley Band, falconry displays, regional food and crafts and even a re-enactment of life during the English Civil War.Activities begin at 11am at the country park. Entry is £2 for adults and £1 for children.
