Jane Eyre

When Charlotte Brontë, under the pen name Currer Bell, published Jane Eyre in 1847, the title page bore the imprint “An Autobiography.” My fascination with this story is rooted in that subtitle. The novel certainly does not fit into the genre of autobiography as we know it; Jane is a fictional character set in a world of extraordinary circumstances complicated by a series of cruel plot twists. So what could possibly make Jane Eyre an autobiography? She tells her story in her words. A revolutionary first in English literature: A woman tells the story!

In her charming, supple, and sensual stage adaptation of the novel, Elizabeth Williamson honors the determinant spirit of not just Jane, but Brontë as well. Eyre, considered a major—if not one of the first—feminist novels, is steeped in themes of resilience, independence, education, and self-determination. This literary classic has been adapted into numerous films, TV series, stage plays and musicals, and even a ballet. Readers and patrons continue to find deep meaning and resonance in these themes. Me too, and moreover, it’s a romance. A Gothic romance!

I am a sucker for a love story, and this one is no exception. Our heroine Jane takes us on the journey from her childhood misfortune to her residency at Thornfield and problematic romance with her employer, the brooding and mysterious Edward Rochester, to a life in the Moors, and ultimately coming home to love. Williamson’s adaptation retains all of the drama associated with the genre and delights in the Victorian Era moral codes. A Victorian Era, Gothic romance, as told to us by the woman who lived it herself!

And of course here, at OSF, this delicious play will be set against the backdrop of the Tudor facade, under the stars, in the Allen Elizabethan Theatre. In my loving and curious care, the Gothic romance of Jane Eyre takes the stage with an intimate chamber ensemble of some of the company’s most beloved performers.

—Dawn Monique Williams