Amadeus at the National Theatre

Photo credit: Marc Brenner
When I'd just moved to London in 2010, not a month went by without me visiting the National Theatre, but with an increasingly busy social and work life (not to mention an entire city of theatres to explore) I don't go to the NT as often anymore as I'd like. So when I do get a chance to pop by my favourite haunt on the South Bank, it's always feels like a treat. The most recent productions I've reviewed there were the excellent Jane Eyre and Three Days in the Country, but since those were over a year ago already, needless to say a visit was long overdue. And I couldn't have had a more memorable reunion with the NT than with the spectacular and riveting Amadeus.

Theatre review: Jane Eyre at the National Theatre

©Manuel Harlan

Despite being a self-proclaimed book geek, I have a rather embarrassing confession to make: I have never read Jane Eyre nor seen any of the various screen adaptations. In fact, I've done a really good job of living under a Charlotte Brontë-shaped rock, as I knew little about the story before watching the innovative production currently gracing the boards at the National Theatre, which in turn is an abridged adaptation of the two-part version staged at the Bristol Old Vic last year.