Kneehigh is one of the world’s most celebrated theatre companies and their international hits include Brief Encounter and Tristan and Yseult. Read more …
Rebecca is timeless; the book beloved by generations and the iconic Alfred Hitchcock film a classic of the genre. Now Rebecca bursts onto the stage! Emma Rice, the award winning director, has created a spellbinding new production of Daphne du Maurier’s masterpiece which conjures Cornish romance and theatrical magic.
Following the mysterious death of his first wife, Maxim de Winter returns to Manderley with his new young bride. Surrounded by memories of the glamorous Rebecca, the new Mrs De Winter is consumed by jealousy. She sets out to uncover the secrets of the house and a past fiercely guarded by the sinister housekeeper Mrs Danvers. All is not what it seems in Manderley…
There’s so much to like within this production. And also so much to be unsure about. As the curtain closes there’s a sense of awe, but also one of disbelief. It’s a curious and puzzling combination.
This is a vivid and vivacious re-imagining of "Rebecca": enriched with flights of fantasy, it gets to the heart of Mrs de Winter’s story, dramatising her dream of memories in the distant past at Manderley.
It takes a wee while to get used to the particular style of the piece, but it is worth it. Over the top, tongue in cheek and at times surreal, but also involving and emotive, this version of Rebecca will keep you thinking long after the curtain has gone down.
With so much to dazzle before the interval, it’s a shame that the plot of the second half occasionally drags.
I doubt whether fans of this great romantic novel will ever see a staging more wildly inventive and creative – and yet more passionately in tune with the powerful narrative backbeat of the story – than this brilliant touring version from Kneehigh Theatre of Truro.
Du Maurier would possibly have baulked at such fast and loose choices, but it rolls along nicely, frothy and playful, but creepy in all the right places.
For all its eccentricity and irreverence, fans of the original novel, as well as those new to the tale, will find much to enjoy. Kneehigh’s Rebecca is an original, arresting piece of theatre, miss it if you dare.
Rice's adaptation is certainly an entertaining night out, one that gives Du Maurier's story a good shake and a new, more fun angle.
Emma Rice--On Staging Rebecca for Kneehigh Theatre
King's Theatre, Edinburgh from Monday October 19, 2015, until Saturday October 24, 2015. More info: http://www.edtheatres.com/kings
King's Theatre, Glasgow from Monday November 2, 2015, until Saturday November 7, 2015. More info: www.theambassadors.com/kings/
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