Showing @ Summerhall, Edinburgh until Sun 24 Aug @ 22:00
Peter McMaster’s experimental production, Wuthering Heights, is less about the novel and more about what it is to be a man. The production reaches beyond the dramatic confines of the stage as the actors ‘collide with the past as [themselves] and as men’. In an explosive performance they bare all, placing themselves in positions of complete vulnerability.
If you were expecting a conventional representation of the novel then you may be disappointed. In fact only very few scenes, namely Cathy and Heathcliff’s respective deaths, are taken from the book. The text acts as inspiration, a springboard into exploring the intricacies of love, suffering and manhood. As the play crescendos, its central question, ‘who is Heathcliff?’ splinters into many. McMaster, (Ellie), screams these at Gary Gardiner (Heathcliff), and the piece is in threat of rupturing beyond repair. Brought together by Nick Anderson (‘Heathcliff’s horse) and Peter Lannon (Cathy), however, the group slips back into harmonious unity. It is such movement between volatility and fluidity that makes the piece so moving.
McMaster has produced a beautifully choreographed piece that balances bold passion with a delicate humour. Accompanied by the sweet tones of Kate Bush, it is hard not to be swept away by this performance.