In the program, Director and Adaptor Emma Rice describes Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights as a tragedy. In a lot of ways, it is, but in this production, there is also quite a bit of whimsy, some rock music, the expected gothic romance, stripped-back grungy aesthetics, minimal dynamic scenery, moments of puppetry and some very primal choreography.
The audience is immediately put at ease by the opening scene in which Lockwood (Sam Archer) is tossed by a storm on the Moors in Yorkshire to the door of Wuthering Heights. Archer vigorously flaps his coat to simulate the wind and strains against the door frame like a frail piece of tumbleweed clinging on for dear life. Ensemble members, The Moors, stand up in the wings to shriek like winds while one hand-held and shaking tree downstage left perfectly represents the harsh and desolate environment of the landscape. With this introduction, the captive viewers already love this production’s ‘travelling show’ vibe with its suggestive scenery, fully exposed wings with rows of eclectic wooden chairs and interactive and visible musicians. It feels rough and ready and incredibly polished all at once.
Some of the childhoods of Heathcliff, Catherine and Hindley are brought to life through puppetry, voiced by their adult selves seated nearby. Heathcliff (John Leader) navigates a wide emotional arc that encompasses complete vulnerability at the start and ends with an almost psychopathic need for revenge. He is subjected to shocking brutality and cruelty, cleverly foreshadowed by Bronte when she wrote, “be careful what you seed”.
Stephanie Hockley is quite mesmerising as Catherine, Heathcliff’s stepsister who, befriends him as a child and then forms a passionate relationship with him as they become young adults. Though not physically intimate, Catherine knows they are inextricably tied when she states, “whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same”. Hockley is playful as a child, coquettish with her admirers and convincingly unhinged as her world starts to unravel. Ultimately, she’s a sexually charged ghost who haunts Heathcliff ’til he takes his last breath.
Edgar Linton (Archer doubling up) and Isabella Linton (Rebecca Collingwood) make a highly entertaining pair of siblings who dance gayly through their young lives with the carefree abandon of idle, well-to-do adolescents. Both suffer the wrath of Heathcliff in due course. Collingwood also plays the young Linton (Isabella’s child with Heathcliff) and does so very effectively. Other standouts include Matthew Churcher as both Hindley and Hareton Earnshaw, Nandi Bhebhe as The Leader of The Moors and TJ Holmes, who plays the Doctor and the Cello (instrument) at several points during the production.
With Set and Costume Design by Vicki Mortimer, Sound and Video Design by Simon Baker and Composition by Ian Ross, this production catapults 19th-century Britain into the modern day. And with eight of the eleven cast members playing multiple roles, the talent is plain for all to see. Catch this highly energetic production now before it disappears into The Moors of its next destination.
– Fiona Kelly
Fiona Kelly is a seasoned performer who also Directs, Choreographs, Designs Scenery and reviews both plays and musicals in Sydney and on the Central Coast. When not on stage or in the audience, she enjoys drinking wine, rescuing dogs and practising her latest skill … riding motorbikes.
Wuthering Heights runs for 2hrs 50 minutes (with 20 min interval) and plays at the Roslyn Packer Theatre Sydney through 15 February 2025. Tickets are available through Roslyn Packer Theatre.
Disclosure: The Plus Ones were guests of Lucky Star Media
Image credit: Original UK production -Steve Tanner
