Interview: Actor Ike Bennett on WUTHERING HEIGHTS tour

Photo credit: Paul Blakemore

A brand-new adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic novel, Wuthering Heights, will play in Northampton from 24 April-6 May, ahead of a UK tour. We spoke to Ike Bennett who plays Heathcliff in this new, contemporary adaptation.

You will soon be opening Wuthering Heights at the Royal and Derngate before heading out on tour. This is a contemporary adaptation, so what can audiences expect from this new production?

What audiences can expect from our contemporary adaptation is harks to our modern times, mostly in the forms of clothing, certain props and dance moves ;) One thing we, as a company, decided early on is the theme of race and how this affects Heathcliff’s descent into villainy. As there are diverse cast members, we discussed about the lineage of certain characters and how they relate to one another, plus research that helped our backstory’s to how some characters came to be involved in the 18th century. 

The story contains topics such as mental and physical cruelty and domestic abuse. These situations are much more openly talked about now than they were in the mid 1800’s when the novel was written. How are they portrayed differently in this adaptation?

Not portrayed much differently at all; the great thing about Brontës novel is the writing. In reading the novel, there is so much packed into three pages describing one moment, there is a lot of examples. What Ben (our brilliant writer) has managed to do is condense a lot of the material but keep really poignant lines of dialogue from the novel. This is especially the case of Catherine Earnshaw and Catherine Linton. It’s also important to note that mental, physical or emotional abuse is often played out in real life on a subtle level that while it may be talked about much more openly to them and to us is treated as an everyday occurrence.

You’re playing the character of Heathcliff. Do you think he really is a ‘misunderstood man’ or genuinely the villain of the piece?

I prefer to think he’s a misunderstood man conducting a piece of Villainy. Everyone is a product of their environment, Heathcliff ended up leading a life that was very much not his fault and was put into situations about his race and background that he couldn’t control. These things can make you do terrible deeds but at the same time, it isn’t excusable what he did. He was simply a character of circumstance. Unfortunately, strong emotions can make you do terrible things and judging by his actions in the book and the play, you see how all these affected him that he went to such great lengths to achieve his goals

What attracted you to this story and the character of Heathcliff?

Ironically, around the time I first auditioned, I became fascinated by police interrogation interviews on YouTube. They were filmed in a case study documentary style that would last over an hour long (you could tell I needed a job!) and one thing that fascinated me was that the suspects would have some form of mental illness, such as narcissism or an anti-social personality disorder that would make them commit such heinous crime. What was interesting was the steps they would have suffered to make them develop into such a way as to lack empathy. Ironically, when this audition came and after reading the play, I was interested in how one man can beat the odds to achieve the impossible and get what he wants but also seamlessly destroy everything in his path to achieve that. And what he is left with at the end, is nothing.

If you could play any other character (non-gender specific) in a period piece, who would it be and why?

That’s an incredible question, and also an impossibly hard one to answer. Every character has their own unique journey and story to tell and I’m always interested in different peoples outlook on life. I’d have to say characters that operate on a different spectrum to me (like Heathcliff) and give me a deeper understanding of humanity and stretch me as an actor interest me.

Wuthering Heights opens at the Royal & Derngate in Northampton before visiting Oxford Playhouse, Warwick Arts Centre, Rose Theatre Kingston and Northern Stage.