ADAPTED by Jane Thornton, directed by John Godber, Wuthering Heights is being given the Hull Truck physical treatment from this week.

Emily Bronte's love story is already buffeted by the Yorkshire winds, and now Thornton takes Cathy and Heathcliff on a wild journey of love, romance and tragedy.

In the land of Hull Truck, there is no wastage on large casts and expensive sets when five actors can do the job. "You imagine an adaptation will be easier to write because the structure is already there but it becomes more difficult as you do it, because there are constrictions to consider," says Jane.

"With Wuthering Heights I knew we would have only five actors and yet you don't want to compromise on cutting things as you want to be relatively faithful to the novel.

"At the same time you have to be prepared to take your own angle on the novel that is true to you - and the more you write, the more you realise there are holes in the story."

Ooh, controversial. "Emily Bronte was a 26-year-old woman with not much experience in life and in Wuthering Heights there are bits that just don't make sense," adds Jane, risking the wrath of the Bronte Fan Club.

"I've tried to make it make sense, and I didn't look at any other adaptations until I was quite a way through. When I did look at one from the 1930s, it had Heathcliff saying things like 'Be gone, rabbit!'. Well, we can't have that.

"It's a very Gothic novel with vast swathes of prose and you think to yourself 'That's the novel, this is the play; people are going to fall asleep if you have to keep in all the passages'. So I have focused on the passion."

Hull Truck's Wuthering Heights runs at Hull Truck Theatre, Hull, until November 1, 8pm. Box office: 01482 323638.

Updated: 12:50 Friday, October 10, 2003