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REVIEW: Wuthering Heights gets a darkly comic twist at Oxford Playhouse

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REVIEW: Wuthering Heights gets a darkly comic twist at Oxford Playhouse

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Wuthering Heights gets darkly comic twist for new Oxford show of love and revenge

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A BROODING tale of obsessive love and revenge, Wuthering Heights is a shocking and evocative masterpiece of literature.

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We perform plays by Shakespeare, his contemporaries and by today's writers in Stratford-upon-Avon, London and on tour.

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The Influence of Theatre over Society: Theatre now is any performance that showcases some play story or poem live on stage. However, it also exerts a great influence on people and society in general. To understand theatre's role in influencing society, we must first understand where it came from and how it evolved.
The History of Theatre:
Theatre as an art form has been around since 6 th century BC, when Athenians first performed song and dance to portray a particular story or poem for an audience. Back in those days, all theatre had a ritualistic leaning but gradually as the popularity increased and societies developed to be more complex and in need of variety in life, theatre developed to be merrier, colourful and visually pleasing. They also started performing more complex stories, comedies and tragedies and all manners of poems. Then theatre used masks to signify emotion and most of the dialogue was sung. If you were a Greek citizen it would be mandatory for you to participate in plays even as a humble audience member, for it was a way of participating in society itself. This was the power that theatre exercised over the Greek society; it made one a proper part of the Grecian society. Even now, though Ancient Greek societies are no more and the theatre itself has evolved to encompass more spheres, Athenian tragedies still remain behind as masterpieces.

With the late Middle Ages came a revolution in European drama, which till then was a pale imitation of the Greek form of drama and much inferior. However, as art was allowed to flourish in the Late Middle Ages, stories became more complex and were often of religious colours, however, there were also a number of secular plays as well that were staged during this time. The religious plays were staged to showcase to the audience the importance of morality and to show them their own sins as well as the importance of the Church, which was all-powerful at that point in time. The secular ones were for entertainment and to sow the seeds of thought in the audience, to open up a broader world to them, where religion did not take centre stage.

Of course, as time progressed several playwrights such as Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, and later Oscar Wilde captured the world's audience with their brilliantly woven storylines and vivid characters, often challenging societal norms veiled or outright.
The Role of Theatre:
The role of theatre is expansive and as with any other visual media of entertainment, it is an excellent and much more direct form of questioning what is felt wrong with the society. It shapes the perspective of many people just as with any other medium and is very good means of entertainment as well. In its modern form theatre still stages the masterpieces of old writers such as "The Bard" himself, whose writings still remain relevant today. However, theatre is not a form of rebellion, but a form of scrutiny of the laws and rules of society itself and as of old today, the audience is the one that is influenced to question and form their own principles at the end of all of it.

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The Influence of Theatre over Society - | Beyond Exclamation

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The Influence of Theatre over Society: Theatre now is any performance that showcases some play story or poem live on stage. However, it also exerts a great influence on people and society in general. To understand theatre's role in influencing society, we must first understand where it came from and how it evolved.

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The website of Oxford Playhouse

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Coming Up...

1. Wuthering Heights

An Oxford Playhouse, China Plate, Inspector Sands and Royal & Derngate Northampton co-production

2. The Way Old Friends Do

James Seabright in association with Jason Haigh-Ellery and Park Theatre presents the Birmingham Rep production

3. Unexpected Twist

By Michael Rosen & Roy Williams | An Oliver Twisted Tale

Offbeat 2023

Oxford's three-day festival of theatre, dance, spoken word, sound art and creative workshops is back!

A collaboration between Oxford Playhouse, Arts at the Old Fire Station and the New Theatre, Offbeat offers live performances across these venues, outdoor appearances and creative workshops on Gloucester Green. Come join in the fun!

Thu 15 to Sat 17 June

LATEST NEWS...

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An Oxford Playhouse, China Plate, Inspector Sands and Royal & Derngate Northampton co-production James Seabright in association with Jason Haigh-Ellery and Park Theatre presents the Birmingham Rep production By Michael Rosen & Roy Williams | An Oliver Twisted Tale Oxford's three-day festival of theatre, dance, spoken word, sound art and creative workshops is back!

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20 amazing theatre directors of all time

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A list of the accomplishments of 20 of theatre’s most influential directors. From modern theatre’s first genuine director Georg II, to Stanislavski at the Moscow Art Theatre, Brecht at the Berliner Ensemble, Elia Kazan on Broadway, the experimental avant-garde of Ariane Mnouchkine, to the universally acclaimed productions of Peter Brook, plus many others.

The world’s best theatre directors vary in their approach and use of style. Stanislavski, Antoine and Craig dabbled in realism and naturalism, Brecht and Piscator forged a path with a new epic theatre form, while Brook’s influences were international. Some of these directors worked mainly for subsidised theatre, others were kings of commercial theatre on Broadway, while several were renowned for their experimental work in ensemble theatre. – Justin Cash

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20 Amazing Theatre Directors | The Drama Teacher

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The accomplishments of theatre’s most influential directors – Stanislavski, Meyerhold, Piscator, Brook, Mnouchkine, Kazan, Littlewood, Grotowski and more.

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these 100 female actors are some the most well known

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Actress | Breakfast at Tiffany's

Audrey Hepburn was born as Audrey Kathleen Ruston on May 4, 1929 in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium. Her mother, Baroness Ella Van Heemstra, was a Dutch noblewoman, while her father, Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston, was born in Úzice, Bohemia, to English and Austrian parents.

After her parents' divorce, ...

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Top 100 Female Actors Of All time - IMDb

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Actress | Breakfast at Tiffany's Audrey Hepburn was born as Audrey Kathleen Ruston on May 4, 1929 in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium. Her mother, Baroness Ella Van Heemstra, was a Dutch noblewoman, while her father, Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston, was born in Úzice, Bohemia, to English and Austrian parents.

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50 of the greatest plays over the past 100years some you may know while others you may not

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Theater’s finest hours from legends like Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, and August Wilson — see how we ranked them.

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Master Shakespeare with the Royal Shakespeare Company

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Master Shakespeare with the Royal Shakespeare Company

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Plot guides, timelines, video, quizzes and more, this new website can help you master the joy of Shakespeare!

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Explore Black Britain on Film in the BFI archives

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Explore Black Britain on Film in the BFI archives

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Striking, illuminating and sometimes surprising images of black culture, community and characters, spanning over a century of British film and TV.

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Striking, illuminating and sometimes surprising images of black culture, community and characters, spanning over a century of British film and TV.

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Comedy from Charlie Brooker starring Philomena Cunk. Philomena knows absolutely nothing about Shakespeare, but that won't stop her attempting to present a groundbreaking documentary about him.

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Philomena Cunk leaves no stone unturned as she gets to the bottom of the Bard.