really enjoyed was that we got to see the other part of Jane – the part that was literally beaten out of her in childhood, but which starts to come to life when she meets Rochester. As young Jane, Holly was loud vocally and physically, everything exaggerated with emotion played to the extreme. As adult Jane, the physical performance was significantly reduced, demonstrating the repression Jane has undergone – all with the exception of Holly's facial expressions, which remained big and bold and showed us that the inner Jane was still there somewhere. There were some exceptions to this, particularly the more tender moments between Jane and Rochester which felt more naturalistic and were quite moving. Stephen Claxon as Rochester created a character who was almost entirely unsympathetic – pompous, somewhat lecherous and misogynistic in the extreme, preying on Jane's innocence and vulnerability when he rejects the overt femininity and freedom of spirit of his wife. It was at times hard to hold in mind that Rochester was representative of his time, as was Jane, and that it was Bertha who was in fact out of place in their society (and, sadly, would indeed have been so until very recently). Stephen was also able to show us the vulnerability of Rochester, particularly at the end following the fire, redeeming the character and making us feel hopeful that perhaps Jane's life with him could be a loving and fulfilling one. Shirley Watson as Mrs Fairfax brought warmth and humour to the stage and her presence was guaranteed to bring some lightness to the scene, as did Barbara Chadwick as Bessie, and I enjoyed both performances very much. Both showed another side of femininity – the motherly, caring side – apparently being the only sources of this in Jane's life. Claire St Pierre as Jane's cruel guardian Mrs Reed represented the darker, crueller side who, along with Ben Ashworth's John Reed and Wayne Avanson's Brocklehurst, created the
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