WUTHERING HEIGHTS - Shared Review Notes
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Direction / Director choices
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The play started as a story which then shot back in time and throughout the play we were taken through the story in a chronological direction that continued until present day.
The directors choice to have a live band on stage which included the celloist to also play the doctor gave a sense of community to the play.
I think that having Catherine be slightly insane was a bold choice that worked well
The director's choice to have Catherine remain on stage in the second act after her death was striking and powerful. It instilled a feeling of uncertainty in the audience about why she was still there or what she would do. It also served to suggest the impact that she had and would continue to have on both Heathcliffe and the narrative - how her actions had led to Heathcliffe's inflated ambition and further desire to control all, possible even death.
The decision to include singing was a bold choice. In particular, I think this worked particularly well when the ensemble was singing prophecy-like statements about Catherine and Heathcliff's future together, as well as when Catherine bursts into a rock song when Heathcliff leaves just before the second act, as this was very unexpected to the audience.
There was a clear choice made that a lot of what happened would be emphatic, and all movements would be clear and purposeful. Additioanlly, there was a lot of dance choreography, showing how the director clearly wanted to blur the lines between physical theatre and dance at points.
There was a strong ensemble element to the play, particularly in narrative moments with The Moor. In certain moments even some of the band were apart of the ensemble to increase the numbers and add to the communal vibrancy when they are all singing. This had elements of Greek Tragedy where you have a narrative chorus who guide the story which really worked for the production as it helped the audience make sense of this classical, hard to follow story line.