Page 11 - 2018 Festival Edition
P. 11

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Making a personal connection to the three sisters
N
ON
BRONTË: A WORLD WITHOUT
ABILITY CHOICE FREEWILL OPPORTUNITY LIBERTY RELEASE REDEMPTION ABILITY CHOICE FREEWILL OPPORTUNITY LIBERTY RELEASE REDEMPTION
GEOFF DALE
Special to The Beacon Herald
Playwright Jordi Mand’s fascinat- ing nine-year journey exploring the compelling tale of the three Brontë sisters comes to fruition June 21 with the premiere of The World Without in the intimate surroundings of the Studio Theatre.
“It was 2009 when I discovered and eagerly read an article about them,” she said. “I knew about Char- lotte’s classic Jane Eyre and Emily’s Wuthering Heights but really little else about the three, including the youngest sister Anne.
“It was fascinating how the article detailed a plan to publish their first novels in one volume. Though guided by the eldest Charlotte, it was she who failed, so I was instantly struck by this irony. This connected to my core in a very personal way with their longings, passionate sense of writing and quest to be read.”
Unable to get the sisters out of her mind, she pondered what they must have been thinking the night they learned their plan had failed. Five years later at the Festival’s Play- wrights Retreat, established in 2008 to support Canadian playwrights working on writing projects, the Brontës resurfaced in another tan- gible manner.
“Away from the distractions of everyday life, I was working on an- other play which was giving me great
Theatre.”
She spoke with dramaturge
Bob White, a champion of new Canadian plays who was eager to assist with the development of her work. Research began, a first draft was written, and the Festival, providing some financial assistance, commissioned the work.
The journey took Mand to the Pennine village Haworth, a pollut- ed, unhygienic and crowded indus- trial town where the sisters grew up in poverty, outside the community on the edge of Haworth Manor. To- day, the Brontë Parsonage Museum Library contains the world’s most comprehensive collection of their manuscripts, letters, early editions of their books, and poetry.
“So much has been beautifully preserved,” she said. “I met with sta , took a private tour and saw so many artifacts. It was incredible to be there, taking a first-hand peek at life as it might have been like dur- ing their time. Here I was embark- ing on my first historic play.
“The creative process included as much reading as possible, research- ing historic facts, poring through wonderful resources while deter- mining how to tell their fascinating, often chilling story.”
While audiences won’t see their ailing father Patrick or dying brother Branwell on stage, the playwright said the story’s heart is family, so other members’ presences are very much
JORDI MAND
I knew I had to write a play about the sisters,
and it had to be performed in the Studio Theatre
di culty,” she said. “One of my best friends in the library presented me with a book on the Brontës, so instead of working on my project, I began reading it.
“I also had the good fortune to see Christina the Girl King that season. It was like a lightning bolt had hit me. After the production, I knew I had
to write a play about the sisters, and it had to be performed in the Studio
felt. Two older sisters had died earlier with their mother passing away when Charlotte, Emily and Anne were very young.
“They were raised by their father, who believed in the importance of education,” she said. “He wanted his children to be thoughtful, think criti- cally and take an interest in politics and the world around them.
“The play is a family drama but there is also humour to be found.
straints, there is still laughter.” Research along the way for Mand
became a “huge personal discovery,” getting to know and falling in love with the Brontës, their novels, poetry and other writings while discover- ing they were so much more than the works for which they had become famous.
Admitting she came to their work later in her life, she said she was in
their journey to becoming great nov- elists,” she said. “This female drive makes up much of the narrative in my work. I was astonished to learn they wrote more as children than as adults, actually 10,000 hours which led to writings like a published collection of poetry before writing their novels. It was constant for them.
continued on page 12
THE BEACON HERALD | 2018 FESTIVAL EDITION
PAGE 11
There are many moments when the girls try expressing themselves but can’t. They try to interpret what the other has said, which can be funny. While largely about making some- thing of their lives, changing, moving ahead and breaking free from con-
a di erent place where she could understand them more clearly and appreciate just how important they were and would remain in the literary world.
“They were impoverished young women who struggled for years on


































































































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