THEATER

An especially dramatic and dynamic Jane Eyre.

IN 2001, audiences watched Anna Karenina shadowed around the Milwaukee Repertory Theater stage by an ominously gesturing figure and a mysterious cellist, who musically beckoned her to her tragic fate as the story unfolded. That’s the combination of music, movement and theater one can expect from the work of Great Britain’s Shared Experience Theatre, which deploys imaginative language and dramatic movement to tell stories of classic novels and plays. This month, The Rep turns to another Shared Experience adaptation, Polly Teale’s telling of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë’s dark psychological tale of a young governess’ life at Thornfield Hall, the estate of the mysterious Edward Rochester. Reviewers have called the original English production a “masterpiece of storytelling,” and director KJ Sanchez has an impressive roster of actors to spin the tale, most of whom are new to Milwaukee audiences.