My creative writing class was fortunate enough to be able to view The Tenant of Wildfell Hall which was based on Anne Brontë's novel, directed by Sarah Rodgers and the venue was the Fredric Wood Theatre in UBC. The play discuses the difficulties and gossip Helen Graham faces as she tries to escape her past by moving to Wildfell Hall.
I found the play to be appropriate in length, it entertained us for a bit over 2 hours with the curtain being lifted around 7:30 pm. Also a short break mid play was given to the audience to freshen up or visit the concession stand. The play was brilliantly performed by UBC Bachelor of Fine Arts students. There was plenty of seating available for the audience, though it was a bit constricting in terms of space. They play employed a simplistic set which consisted of a mash up of windows in the background and a ramp in the centre to allow the audience to see all the characters at once. While changing the locations, the actors would add or reuse a minimal amount of props such as a few canvases to represent Wildfell Hall or put together chairs to create a makeshift bed in which Arthur Huntingdon, Mrs. Graham's laid. This minimalist concept allowed for seamless transitions in between scenes, without there ever being a need to pull down the curtain. An audience orientated vibe was given off because the production clearly did not disrupt the audience's concentration. The play relied on the actors being able to hold the focus of the audience and enveloping them in their dialogue versus letting their set be the centre of attraction. Which to the actor's credit, they did an astonishing job at keeping me interested steadfast throughout the play. The costumer designer, Jacqueline Firkins was able to well encompass the time period of the play, 19th century England, as all the actors wore authentic and stunning clothing. I didn't notice any problems with how the play was lit, the sequences and transitions in between scenes where the lights would be dimmed were clearly well rehearsed. Overall, the production quality was clearly professional and had been thought out.
The actors remained in character throughout, without ever breaking the 4th wall, as one would expect from the majority of actors being 4th and final year acting students. I didn't notice the actors using mics, or if they did they did, they must have hid them well, in either case they articulated clearly and loudly enough for me to clearly hear and understand their lines. They also used British accents, which for the most part were well integrated into the production and reflected the vocabulary and speaking style of their characters. The accents were not overdone, therefore they added another layer to the intricacy of the characters. The actors never appeared to be nervous nor did I ever feel as if they had forgotten their lines or were deviating from their script. They all had great stamina and were lively, and the fed off of the audience's enthusiasm. While an actor was engaged in an conversation with another, I noticed that the background characters remained dynamic, they reacted to topics brought up in the conversation as well as they were preoccupied with their own gossip. This resulted in the play feeling more realistic because in day to day life, events and discussions are always occurring in the background. They also had exceptional blocking, as their staggered stances in conversations made them more open and inviting to the audience. The attitudes and energy of the actors contributed to the finished production.
The dialogue of the play was well adapted from the novel which created a fulfilling plot because it was inclusive of how the characters felt and acted. The plot engaged the audience with quarreling occurring in between characters, comedy and heart felt and everlasting love. It depicted the struggles of how women without their husbands were quickly judged as being extremely weak or even witches. Mrs. Graham became the town's gossip extremely quickly because she never told anyone about her past ties, which opened up space for people to create fictitious tales. The play's soliloquy was well executed by Gilbert Markham in which he finally learned about Mrs. Graham's past. Themes of alcoholism and how women were viewed during that time period, or even today are explored. Arthur Huntingdon is depicted as an abusive alcoholic husband who is not at all responsible for his wife nor his money and later dies because of his bad habits. Also the play clearly shows that women were required to stay with their husband, no matter how cruel or how many affairs their husband was having. This forced Mrs. Graham to conceal her past and hid in the countryside. Stereotypical or "stock" characters are also used in the play, for example Mrs. Wilson is clearly the gossip queen of the town, as she always is curious about everyone's private matters and continually gets asks and/or gets involved in other peoples personal problems. This along with the wit of the dialogue brings comedy to the play. The play had a dramatic storyline and explored interesting and relevant themes to truly engage the audience.
In conclusion, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a simplistic yet professional production. It is must see in my opinion due to how the actors bring the story line alive through the use of authentic clothing, British accents and their own energy and charisma. It's dialogue and drama continually has the audience wondering what will happen next. It is a perfect and light-hearted way to spend an evening, I rate this play 5 out of 5 stars.
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