By Jenny Enarsson

After Mrs Rochester tells the true story of writer Jean Rhys (1889-1979). She was the author of Wide Sargasso Sea, the book whose main protagonist is Mrs Rochester – the madwoman in the attic from Jane Eyre.

When the play starts, the elderly Jean Rhys is trying to remember "the time when her name was still Ella". She proceeds to guide us through various stages of her life – her childhood in the Caribbean island of Dominica, convent school in England, adult life in France…

Rhys first reads Jane Eyre as a young girl and the book becomes a recurring feature throughout her life. She escapes into it when the outside world and her relationships become too difficult to handle, and scenes from the book are played out to us as the story of Jean’s life progresses.

The madwoman in the attic becomes Jean’s constant companion and tormentor, like a shadow visible and audible only to her and us. This creature is at the same time her demon and her muse, as Jean tries to exorcise her through writing.

Diana Quick is just right as the older Jean Rhys and the brilliant Sarah Ball is at the same time nightmarishly terrifying and strangely appealing as the madwoman – crawling around on the floor in an uncontrolled flow of emotions.

The play is cleverly staged with several versions of Jean on stage at the same time and there is a lot of dialogue between the older Jean and the younger one. The madwoman is ever present to plague both of them equally. After Mrs Rochester is wonderfully and intelligently written and directed by Polly Teale, and the result is a great theatre experience.