See The Falls From “Wuthering Heights”By Wes Hessel
The UK troupe Wise Children is in town at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre on Navy Pier, producing their joint interpretation of the Emily Brontë classic “Wuthering Heights”. This strident, edgy production points up the far-reaching consequences of bad choices and the proverbial sins of the fathers, but does so with a final conclusion of love conquering all, though at a great cost. The innovative elements of puppetry, set piece constructs of common things made of wood, birds from books, chalkboards, well placed humor, and songs, including that by the chorus who embody the infamous moors, combine to illustrate strikingly what happens when love is not put first.
The cast members are extremely talented and weave an engrossing tale of despair, anger, and bitterness, yet not without levity delivered with impeccable timing in fully integrated characterizations of very real, very human people, in a time of class and other sharply drawn categorical divisions. Lessons taught here in this work can very much be applied to our current cultural shortcomings, but only with conviction and perseverance.
The almost ascetic set, in some respects reminiscent of classic stagings of “Our Town”, echoes the souls laid bare of the characters portrayed on the stage, and it is used excellently in its full depth, in smart conjunction with the elements made up of chairs, doors, and ladders. The lighting and sound work well in supporting the vision here, bringing to life a seminal novel with driving results – it gets in your head in a way that raises questions we may not want to think about, but should.
The production will reach a younger generation captivated by action and movement, but still speaks to those of us who probably read the book in an English or literature class somewhere along the way, returning to the fore the brooding, bleak landscape that is “Wuthering Heights”. This theatrical masterwork is only here until February 19th, so move with haste to see the spectacle before it vanishes into the murky mists of the moors. For tickets or more information, travel to www.chicagoshakes.com.
Category: Articles, Community News, In Case You Missed It, Opinions, This and That, Uncategorized
