the Tenant of Wildfell Hall: a review

A few nights ago, I had the pleasure of seeing The Tenant of Wildfell Hall at the Frederic Wood Theatre with my English class(es). The play by Anne Bronte, is an adaptation by Professor Jacqueline Firkins. The novel is one of the first feminist novels written although at the time, the novel was published under the pseudonym of Acton Bell. The play is directed by an UBC alumni, Sarah Rogers,

The play follows the story of Helen Graham who is a single mother that has escaped from her abusive husband and miserable existence to Wildfell Hall, a manor that has been deserted for over 20 years. Her arrival and mysterious presence creates a great uproar among the town folks and she becomes the center of their incessant gossip. Among the curious, we are introduced to the flamboyant character of Gilbert Markham and the reserved and polite Frederick Lawrence and we soon realize a profound and growing connection between all of them that leads to the revealing of a past that has a bigger impact than the characters could ever imagine.

The simple background of wooden window cutouts was effective and perfectly adaptable which gave any scene an ethereal and graceful feel. The background lights and tinkling of piano during scene changes added to the magical sense of the play coming to life. Especially notable was the silhouettes that formed from the wooden windows and the costumes of the actors/actresses. The scene would change, the stage would darken and the unmistakable silhouettes of the magnificent costumes would give off a hauntingly beautiful 19th century look. Speaking of the costumes, Jacqueline Firkins again did a fantastic job creating the costumes. Each garment was completely in tune to the character's personality; a somber black dress with minimal decorations for Helen while a flirty blue gingham dress with frills and a dramatic bonnet for Eliza Milward. The bonnets were an authentic and fun touch to the costumes that took us back to 1848.

Each actor and actress were phenomenal, but the main stand outs for me were Kelsey Ranshaw as Mrs. Wilson and Meegin Pye as Helen Grayham. Providing much needed comedic relief was Mrs. Wilson, whose facial expressions and snooping antics brought waves of laughter from the audience. I enjoyed the effort the director put in to the script to elicit many positive emotions from the audience from such a bleak story line. I also enjoyed Ms. Pye's performance as she stayed in character brilliantly throughout the entirety of the play although there were moments that the laughter from the audience interrupted her carefully guarded expressions. Overall, I enjoyed the accents from all the characters; it started off a bit rough but as the play went on, it became more natural to the ear, losing the forcefulness of the act. However, I found Mrs. Markham's accent to be a little off and it became a distraction every time she spoke because it wasn't align with the other voices.

I would highly recommend this production for those who enjoy a timeless classic full of suspense, intrigue, comedy and passion. The Sarah Rogers really highlighted the potential of the story and brought it to life. I would give this play a 4 out of 5 stars.