withdrawn down-trodden Jane who, nevertheless, chooses to take some charge of her life when she advertises to become a governess. Claire, Ben and Wayne all played multiple roles – Ben's being particularly varied as teacher, footman and Pilot the dog! Ben seemed to particularly relish playing Pilot and it was an innovative representation which brought a smile to the audience's faces every time. All three actors are to be commended on giving distinct, believable performances for all their roles. Lula Chinery also played three different roles as Jane's school friend Helen, Rochester's ward Adele and Diana Rivers. Again, all three performances were distinct and yet all were very endearing, although I sometimes struggled to hear all of the dialogue as Helen and Diana. There was no such difficulty with hearing Lula's portrayal of Adele, which was confident, fresh and vibrant – particular kudos to Lula for speaking French so confidently! Lula, as Adele, also made me smile whenever she was on stage. Catherine Strickland looked the part as the beautiful Blanche Ingram in a particularly stunning dress, and also showed us Blanche's proud and grasping side as Jane's rival for Rochester's heart. In contrast to this as Mary Rivers, Catherine was able to play humble and reserved. Dominic Dwyer as Mary's brother and Jane's would-be suitor Saint John Rivers, and Bertha's brother Richard Mason, also delivered two strikingly different performances, although both had the underlying strength of will essential to both characters. The wardrobe team clearly had a challenge to clothe in period costume such a large number of characters, and they rose to this challenge admirably. The costumes added to the overall impression of this as a dramatic performance, brightening the stage – hats off to Jacqui Mooney and Jane Stack. The lighting was of course also instrumental in this – during the music and dance numbers giving the impression that we were at a gig with full lighting effects and during the dialogue ensuring that we could see all characters clearly. I imagine that for this set, with its depth and multiple levels, this must have been a particular challenge but the lighting and sound team of Kris Connell, Ryan Clegg and Alex
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