The first show of a promising 40th season for the Edison Theatre begins this Friday with “Jane Eyre,” an experimental take on the famous novel by Charlotte Brontë. “Eyre” is part of the Edison Ovations Series, performances brought to the Edison Theatre in music, dance and theatre that promise to be cutting-edge and unlike anything else in St. Louis. The performance by the Counter-Balance Theatre out of the University of California, Irvine is a complete reimagining of the Gothic story of a governess who falls in love with her employer. This take is in the medium of devised theatre, in which actors take on the roles of the animals, architecture and furniture onstage, along with the classic characters of Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester.

There will be two performances of “Jane Eyre,” one on Friday and one on Saturday. The Edison Theatre gave out complimentary tickets to 40 freshmen as part of the First 40 program, and other Wash. U. students can purchase tickets at the box office. There are also two workshops during the week with the director, Annie Loui, a professor from UC Irvine. The first is a more informal chat about the unfamiliar medium called “What is Devised Theater?” The second workshop is much more hands-on, with Loui and the cast providing an introduction to the process of performing devised theater through both exercises and improvisations.