This WILD '90s Wuthering Heights Musical Has Left Fans Speechless
My nan will hate me for saying this, but she absolutely loved Cliff Richard — to the point that I distinctly remember watching VHS tapes of his various exploits growing up (my favourite, obviously, was Summer Holiday).
But I think even she can’t get him out of this one. With Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” surprising, delighting, and downright traumatising audiences, one of our Cliff’s lesser-known hits has scrambled its way to the surface. I am talking, of course, about Heathcliff — the 1996 musical starring Richard as the titular character.
Serving Face on the Moors: 1996’s ‘Heathcliff’ with Cliff Richard
The production, which even tapped in the likes of Tim Rice and John Farrar for the musical side of things, tried to boldly go where no Wuthering Heights adaptation had gone before – reportedly filling in some of the gaps of Heathcliff’s backstory in chronological order. Needless to say, there was serious artistic license taken with this story, with multiple scenes including (Heath)Cliff on a boat (?), clutching onto a rope for dear life while being blasted by a wind machine, yelling to Cathy in a downright diabolical Yorkshire accent.
Other notable scenes include Cathy’s father dropping like a fly after slapping her, some masked hairy monster-looking things surrounding Heathcliff as they leap around on-stage, Cliff’s peculiar delivery of the line “I’ll be as dirty as I please,” and his voice literally cracking as he clings to the clump of rock representing Cathy’s grave, howling that he “cannot live without [his] sooooooooul.”
A compilation clip of the musical’s VHS release on YouTube also suggests that fans were treated to scenes of Heathcliff lurking around the moors, serving face — because you can’t have Wuthering Heights without the moors, right? Adding another layer to this hidden gem is the fact that, according to Gold Radio, all the dialogue from the show was actually directly from the novel — although it was transposed here and there to fit the musical.
While an attempt was made with the outfits, nothing compares to the makeup Cliff is wearing in this production. I’m no expert on the 1700s or 1800s, but I’m pretty sure that thick fake tan, eyeliner and a seemingly drawn-on beard weren’t a thing back then. And sure, stage makeup is meant to be intense, but when one character is practically glowing, it takes you out of the immersion a little bit.
Critics and Fans Were Just as Divided on this Version as Emerald Fennell’s
But don’t get me wrong — there’s no hatred here toward Heathcliff, just pure astonishment at how unhinged it all is. At the time, it might not have surprised you to learn that it was critically panned. But rather than shy away from the media storm, the people behind Heathcliff actually quoted critics’ reviews in newspaper advertisements, with The Independent reporting that phrases like "This Wretched Show,” “It Was Like Watching The Pope Smoke Dope", "The Bad-Taste Theatre Event Of The Decade", and "Withering Rather Than Wuthering” were used. The best part? This was all Cliff’s idea.
However, these reviews didn’t stop the show from becoming an extraordinary success, with the ad also including a statement which read: “Every box-office record smashed. Half a million tickets and 320,000 Heathcliff albums sold.”
Despite its divisiveness in the ‘90s, netizens in the YouTube comments agreed on one thing: it is absolutely hilarious. “I can't stop watching,” one wrote. “Please send help.”
“Emerald Fennell wishes she could produce quality like this,” another added. A third opined that “this masterpiece needs a 4K release,” while a fourth quipped: “Jacob Elordi, eat your heart out.”
In my opinion, this is a case of something that is so bad, it’s actually good. The sheer amount of campiness is almost unprecedented, and quite simply, whatever you think of Cliff Richard, you can’t deny that this is totally iconic.
