Wuthering Heights, Battersea Arts Centre

The wild Yorkshire moors of Emily Bronte's classic Wuthering Heights come to the Battersea Arts Centre this September as Peter McMaster’s all male production returns to the stage, following last year’s hugely successful run. 

As we are told at the start of the play, the actors in this devised production do not “ retell a story ”, rather this adaptation of the Gothic lovestory explores what it means to be a man in the modern world within the framework of the novel's settings and themes . The stories of the four performers are intertwined with the text, exploring how definitions of masculinity have changed in the 200 years since the book’s publication. Heathcliff's tortured romanticism makes for a captivating lens through which to consider passion, strength and madness. 

A single gender production of this famous of Victorian novel, performed with only four actors does, we admit, sounds a tad bonkers, but McMaster's bold and imaginative direction makes it work. Describing himself as an 'experimental performance practitioner'  the visionary director is, first and foremost, an artist. In his own words, his current work looks to explore, 'gender and masculinity, wildness/wildlessness' and with these as your themes, Wuthering Heights seems a great place to start.  What he has created is a study of the scribbles around the edges of a text, an off-the-wall encounter between text and interpreter. 

When only four actors are present on stage their performances need to be universally strong, and previous reviews suggest that the young Scottish performers involved in Wuthering Heights handle their material beautifully. 

This isn’t one for children or the faint-hearted, as the show contains nudity, swearing and loud noises. And in case you were wondering, yes there is some Kate Bush . 

A limited exclusive for Culture Whisper members. We have 10 pairs of tickets with 20% off. Discount code is: CULTWHISPER