JANE EYRE Director’s Reflections

By Director Eleanor Holdridge

A heroine for today, the character Jane Eyre is one of the most compelling in the history of the English novel. She is strong. She is resilient. She is pragmatic. At the core, Charlotte Brontë’s heroine refuses to relinquish a sense of self. She dreams of a better life. In Elizabeth Williamson’s stunning translation of the novel for the stage, Jane is portrayed as a young woman striving for a life of her own. The vitally passionate love she feels for the captivating Rochester is at the core of the action, and yet she values her own worth and integrity above that feeling. Because of her strength, we believe the world can be a better place.

I came across the character of Jane in Junior High School, like so many since the book was published almost two hundred years ago, and was inspired by her grit and determination. She was a beacon of hope for what could be possible for a young, shy, and introverted me. With a society, economic system, and class system stacked against her, Jane perseveres, forging a place for herself in the world and striving for the love she feels for the compelling Rochester. Elizabeth Williamson’s play is both a love story and a ghost story and in this production, I hope to balance both elements while keeping the strength and agency of Jane at the center.

Jane Eyre runs April 12 – May 5. Tickets are available here.