The Information on: `Jane Eyre'

What Is It?

Shared Experience theatre company's fresh and dynamic version of Charlotte Bronte's novel, adapted and directed by Polly Teale, which presents Rochester's mad wife locked up in the attic as the alter-ego of Jane, the downtrodden governess .

Who's In It?

Penny Layden is commanding as Jane, whose actions are echoed by Harriette Ashcroft as Bertha. Sean Murray plays Mr Rochester, while five other actors take on the remainder of the roles.

What They Say About It

"How could they do it? Shared Experience's version of Jane Eyre is so fresh and astute that it does what even the most faithful literary adaptation rarely achieves. After nearly three hours of transfixing theatre, it guarantees that rereading the novel will be a let-down," Maeve Walsh, The Independent on Sunday.

"This is a faithful, psychologically incisive and sexy take on a classic novel, but it probably wouldn't work half so well without Warmington's set. A charred and battered stairway leading up to a jagged platform, it somehow captures the brooding, compulsive atmosphere of Bronte's story before anyone has set foot on stage," Nick Curtis, Evening Standard.

"Shared Experience's adaptation gets to the psychological heart of Charlotte Bronte's novel... a really emotionally fulfiling evening," Lyn Gardner, The Guardian.

Where You Can See It

Jane Eyre, New Ambassadors, West St, London WC2 (0171-836 6111) to 23 Dec