Actor Alison Campbell stars in a bold new production of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, in association with Live Wire and RoughHouse Theatre, blending physical theatre, modern storytelling and a feminist perspective. Emma Clegg talks to Alison about how the messages are relevant for today’s audience, and the challenges of playing multiple characters.
Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Brontë in 1847, speaks of its own era. The themes of social mobility, women’s limited options and the stark contrast between the wealthy and the impoverished were all central to Victorian society. So how can a new theatre interpretation connect with a contemporary audience? I ask this of Alison Campbell, as she prepares for a new production of Jane Eyre at the Ustinov, Bath from 13-15 October.
Alison defends the book and its relevance today for the way it embraces powerful, universal themes. “The story has endured because of its timeless quality. You have this resilient character, someone who, against the odds, builds the life she deserves. She does that by being brave, staying true to herself, and refusing to settle. There’s real strength in that, and it is why Jane has remained such a compelling figure.
“The novel is entitled Jane Eyre: An Autobiography, so the book is framed as Jane reflecting on her own life. We’ve taken that idea and imagined the central figure as a present-day relative who discovers her ancestor’s old diaries in an attic. As she finds different pages, she begins to piece together the story of what happened. This contemporary character sees the events with the same perspective as the audience, and that allows us to explore the broader themes and content of the original story, without needing to stick rigidly to the detail.”
The show is a new version of a production that Alison worked on 10 years ago, now reinvented with the team of writer and producer Dougie Blaxland, director Shane Morgan and movement director Moira Hunt. “We’re reworking the piece and bringing in some more physical elements, especially as there’s a lot of multi-roling involved – I play around 16 characters! We’re exploring how to represent each one physically on stage, and how to really capture the essence of those characters through voice and movement.”
There are some uncomfortable elements in the story for modern eyes, Alison points out. “There are aspects of Jane Eyre that feel quite jarring when viewed through a contemporary lens. At its heart, it’s a love story, but there are clearly abusive relationships within it.”
One of the most striking examples of this is Mr Rochester keeping his first wife, Bertha, locked in the attic. “That’s deeply disturbing – she is portrayed as both mad and from Jamaica, and is hidden away and dehumanised. At the time the novel was written, attitudes toward race and mental health were very different, and those issues were either brushed past or framed in ways that feel uncomfortable now.
“We need to find a way to represent that sensitively. We want to hold space for the powerful storytelling and emotion at the core of the book, but also be honest about the unsettling realities within it.”
Despite the social context, the story has a strong argument for women’s rights, says Alison. “What’s so striking is Jane’s reflective nature. Even as she looks back on everything she’s been through – she was mistreated as a child and attended a harsh, oppressive school – she has this clarity about when she’s been wronged, and a strong sense of self-worth. She’s determined to strive for something better, which is part of what made Jane Eyre such a groundbreaking and exciting novel at the time – it had a strong feminist edge.”
That sense of equality is central to Jane’s character, says Alison. “When she discovers Rochester is already married, and that his wife is being kept locked in the attic, she leaves him. She doesn’t let herself be swept away by love or trapped by circumstance. At a time when women had very little power or autonomy, Jane stands up for herself again and again.”
In the final part of the book, Jane chooses to return to Rochester, and that is significant. “She comes back on her own terms. By that point, he’s been profoundly changed: Thornfield [the house] has burned down, and he’s been badly injured and lost his sight. It’s almost a kind of poetic justice – both of them have been ‘burned’ by the consequences of his past choices. And yet, when they reunite, it is as equals. It’s not about dependence or submission; it’s about mutual respect and real emotional strength. That gives the story a surprising freshness and emotional power, even today.”
Sometimes you tell a story purely with your voice… and sometimes it’s entirely through the body. When you combine the two, you create something special
When I speak to Alison, they are still in the initial workshopping stages of the production. “We’ve been exploring who the narrator figure really is – how we might root her in the contemporary world while still honouring the original story. It’s about discovering the style, identifying which parts of the story are essential to tell, and developing our approach to representing the characters. It’s a very open and collaborative process.”
Alison explains that many productions such as Jane Eyre begin life in R&D [research and development] and that there may be several R&D phases before a piece reaches full production. “Each stage allows for new discoveries that help shape the final piece. One of the challenges has been figuring out how to represent such a large number of characters on stage with a cast of one, so we’ve been experimenting with storytelling through physicality and learning how to shift between characters effectively.”
As one actor taking on so many roles, the stage choreography, developed with movement director Moira Hunt, will be key. Fortunately Alison has a fair bit of experience taking on multiple characters and highly physical roles, such as voicing audio books and working with The Natural Theatre Company in Bath. The latter included a promotional time-lapse video in 2019 that shows Alison adopting a succession of Natural Theatre characters through quick outfit and makeup changes. For Alison this kind of experience naturally feeds into other theatre projects where movement is more central. “Movement is just another powerful tool for storytelling. Sometimes you tell a story purely with your voice, like I do with audiobooks, and sometimes it’s entirely through the body. But when you combine the two, you can create something really special.”
Alison’s career direction and her love of drama and theatre was strongly influenced by her time at Bath’s Royal High School, where she remembers Mrs Trevethick who taught speech and drama: “She ignited the passion for acting in many students over the years – she was a special one!” Alison also has “a vivid memory of one autumn afternoon in sixth form – we were studying Frankenstein and my English teacher Mr Evans arranged for us to read the transformation chapter at Beckford’s Tower in Lansdown. Reading that dramatic scene inside a Gothic tower was just incredible – it really brought the book to life.”
After a BA in Performance at Bretton Hall in Yorkshire, which was known for its strange, surreal and dark comedic theatre-making, Alison then moved to Bristol and joined a theatre company called Gentleman Jack, made up of other young actors and theatre makers, and then spent ‘a few great years’ with them creating productions of classic texts and Shakespeare, before then joining the Natural Theatre Company.
Alison lives in Bristol and identifies strongly with the south west. “I’m definitely a West Country girl and being close to the countryside is really important to me. I love it down here – the people are friendlier, and there’s such a strong sense of artistry and creativity in Bristol. That spills over into Bath too, which I love. Maybe my career has been a bit slower because I didn’t go to London, but I think I’ve had a much better quality of life living in the south west.”
An award-winning audiobook narrator (with 200 books under her belt) Alison has just returned from working with the Jakop Ahlborn Company in Amsterdam on the internationally touring show, We Don’t Live Here Anymore. Always keen to keep honing her craft – “Longevity in this field means constant learning, workshops and finding new inspiration” – she is now finishing a Screen Acting MA at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and refers proudly to her portfolio career; “I do voice acting, theatre, screen work, comedy, cabaret… I love juggling different styles because each one comes with its own challenges, which keeps it exciting and helps me stay engaged.”
A quote used earlier seems to embody Alison Campbell just as much as Jane Eyre – “[Jane is] … someone who, against the odds, builds the life she deserves. She does that by being brave, staying true to herself and refusing to settle.”
Book tickets for Jane Eyre at the Ustinov, Bath and discover Alison settling into 16 different characters.
Jane Eyre: an autobiography, 13–15 October, The Ustinov Studio, Bath; theatreroyal.org.uk