Theatre Review || Emma Rice’s Wuthering Heights

Posted on November 17, 2021

I waited absolutely ages to see Emma Rice’s Wuthering Heights. I am a massive fan of most of Emma Rice’s work, especially Wise Children. So I was thrilled to hear that her next challenge was sinking her teeth into the Bronte classic. And then COVID happened. But nonetheless, I continued to wait with baited breath. And the wait was thoroughly worth it.

It was a brilliant production from start to finish. It’s abstract, theatrical and camp. But that doesn’t detract from the horror of the story. The actors make it clear from the start that the story is a pretense; we are watching a play. The opening few minutes were so playful that I was briefly afraid that the whole story was going to lose itself in silliness but my fears were unfounded.

The chorus functions as both the servants and the moor itself, reminding the audience that the Yorkshire nature is one of the most important characters in the novel. I thought that Ash Hunter as Heathcliff gave an eloquent understated and straight performance. He almost belonged in a different play altogether, but it just served to continue to “other” him. Lucy McCormick was a brilliant Catherine. Equal parts, wild, obnoxious, obstinate and misunderstood. There is a moment where she is singing a rock ballad that shouldn’t work but it does.

The standout performance for me was actress Katy Owen, as both Isabella Linton and Little Linton. She was incredibly physically versatile as well as possessed fantastic comic timing. But her humour worked to highlight the tragedy of Isabella’s ultimate circumstance.

I’m not sure that the obsession between Heathcliff and Cathy was explored to the fullest but despite that it was still a fantastic night of theatre.

The production is touring and you can find details of it here.