And here it is, the London premiere of the Gordon & Caird Jane Eyre musical:
Adam Blanshay Productions and David & Hannah Mirvish present Music and Lyrics by Paul Gordon Book and Additional Lyrics by John Caird Co-Directed by John Caird and Megan McGinnis Georgina Lamb, Choreographer James Whiteside, Lighting Designer Southwark Playhouse - Elephant 28 Aug - 24 Oct 2026
With Charlie Burn as Jane Ashley Gilmour as Rochester Claire Greenway as Abbot / Grace Poole Melad Hamidi as St John / Lord Ingram Jonathan Andrew Hume as Brocklehurst / Mason Izzi Levine as Agnes / Leah / Jane’s Mother / Mary Ingram Hannah Lindsey as Scatcherd / Bertha Mason Isabelle Methven as Helen Burns / Bessie Gemma Page as Reed / Fairfax Eve Shanu-Wilson as Blanche / Sophie Connor Wood as John Reed / Vicar Poppy Jason as Young Jane / Adele Emily-Rose Samuel as Young Jane / Adele
The iconic tale reimagined for its UK premiere. “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” This five-time Tony nominated musical retelling of Charlotte Brontë’s revolutionary novel makes its UK premiere. A story of ambition and independence, gothic mystery and great passionate love, Jane Eyre has enchanted generations and is brought into the 21st century with this new production. Accompanied by an epic sweeping score, prepare to see Jane, the first feminist literary icon, like you never have before. Co-directed by John Caird, best known for international hit Les Misérables, and Broadway veteran Megan McGinnis, with music by Daddy Long Legs’ Paul Gordon.
Broadway World reviews Brontë Sister House Party.If you’ve ever wondered what it may be like to party with the Brontё sisters, get ready to sip on a lot of cordials, margaritas, and rosè and experience an evening like no other at Nu Sass Productions’ Brontё Sister House Party. Join Emily (Leah Ly), Charlotte (Aubri O’Connor), and Anne (Rose Hahn) Brontё, alongside their brother Branwell (Ty Edwards) and some other very special guests, as they throw yet another house party that they hope will help them escape the Purgatorial time loop in which they are trapped. Many, many years after their untimely deaths, the Brontё sisters have found themselves stuck in Purgatory by the Lavender Witch of Gondol (a creation from their own imaginations), which requires them to throw a party every single night until they are able to reach The Point of Celebratory Reverence; except they don’t know what that requires, or do they? In order to gain approval from the Lavender Witch of Gondol, the Brontёs turn to some special guests to to keep their party attendees entertained: Wuthering Heights’ Cathy (Brenna Horner), Jane Eyre’s Helen Burns (Alyssa Nolan), and famed English singer Kate Bush (Madeline Marie). Through a wide variety of musical numbers, their stories are told (and hopefully earn audience approval) and the complexities of everyone’s lives are exposed. Do they ever make it out of this time loop? You’ll just have to see for yourselves! Charlotte’s (Aubri O’Connor) expectations of perfection and anxiety surrounding the party are palpable. O’Connor’s portrayal of the eldest sister is brilliant and because of this, I was able to empathize with her desire to protect her sisters, reconnect with her love, and remain optimistic that this time loop will eventually end. I commend O’Connor for her raw emotion and dedication to the role - it is a performance that has left an impression on me. In contrast to Charlotte’s range of emotion, Emily (Leah Ly) is pessimistic and remains that way through most of the show, even though she may know the way out. Whether that level of pessimism was the original intention or not, Ly’s performance remains at one level - always a bit mopey and apathetic. More depth to Emily’s character would have been an added bonus to this production. (...) Nu Sass Productions’ Brontё Sister House Party is a fun night out and a great way to spend an evening in this last part of summer. There are a variety of special performances coming up, including a free performance on September 8th during Art All Night sponsored by Van Ness Main Street, and they are all worth checking out. I’m eager to see what else Nu Sass Productions has in store this year! (Abby Korb)
LBC has an article on the plans for a wind farm at the heart of Brontë Country and how the locals (and visitors, we would add) are against it. Walking in Brontë country on the Moors above Haworth is like walking in one of the famous sisters’ novels. But the landscape that inspired Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, a story revived in the latest Hollywood film starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, is under threat, according to some local residents. Thirty-four wind turbines, each one standing at 200 metres tall, are being planned for construction on Crow Hill on the Moors here. Nick Makinnon’s home sits on part of the Brontë walk, taking in the stunning views of the dramatic scenery. He is among a large group in the surrounding area who are campaigning against these plans. “It’s a special protection area for enlisted birds, it’s a conservation area and it’s the inspiration for the Brontë sisters” Nick explained. “So on those three axes, it’s the worst site in England.” A spokesperson for Calderdale Energy Park told LBC: “Our assessment work to date concludes that Top Withens (the farmhouse that inspired Wuthering Heights) and its Brontë associations would remain intact, with no harm to its heritage significance. “The nearest turbine would be more than 800 metres away and positioned beyond intervening landform, limiting its prominence in views from the site.” To that, Nick said this goes much deeper…literally. “Amazingly, there’s only one site in England where you get a peat landslide known as a ‘bog burst’, where the bog explodes under pressure.” Nick pointed out. “The only place it happens in England is on Crow Hill. The developers of the Wind Farm have very recently decided it needs to go over that area.” In response to Nick's comments, a spokesperson for Calderdale Energy Park told LBC: “Detailed peat, ground condition and stability assessments are ongoing, and the findings will inform the project's final design. “The design has already evolved through two stages of peat probing and hydrological surveys, moving infrastructure away from deeper peat and adjusting track alignments to follow shallower corridors, with floating tracks proposed in suitable locations to avoid cutting into peat altogether.” Around 80,000 visitors come to the area each year, many wanting to see the history of the Brontës. Rebecca Yorke, the Director of the Brontë Parsonage Museum, said if this energy park were to go ahead, it would “change the landscape forever". “It would be very mercenary to say it would have an impact on tourism; we don’t know if it would stop people coming here,” she said. “But what we do know is that their experience would be very different. That landscape would not be the same, the wildlife wouldn’t be there. "To walk those moors is like walking in the Brontës' imagination. You can’t separate the landscape from their writing.” (Alex Taylor-Brown)
Wide Sargasso Sea feels like it’s in conversation with Edward Long’s The History of Jamaica. He goes off on white women in the Caribbean. How the white woman is this feral creature, she may be tainted, possibly insane, certainly full of wanton lust. My theory is that Charlotte Brontë read it, and hence we get the madwoman in the attic, who’s from Jamaica. Brontë wouldn’t have known a thing about Jamaica. Her only source would have been written material, and the only written material I know of from that period would be Edward Long’s History. So if you’re Jean Rhys, not only are your characters these women, but you’re also that woman. And I think she felt driven to give that woman a voice and agency. People think she only did that in Voyage in the Dark or Wide Sargasso Sea, but she did it in all her books. (Nick Hilden)
Just one day before, the new London production of Gordon & Caird's Jane Eyre. The Musical, another student production (with the lazy, unavoidable AI poster), opens in Tomball, TX:
Music and Lyrics by Paul Gordon Books and Additional Lyrics by John Caird Lone Star College - Tomball Campus - Performing Arts Center August 27, 28, and 29, 2026, 7:00 PM August 29 2:00PM
The epic story of Jane Eyre, told alongside a gorgeous musical score, is on the Lone Star College - Tomball stage starting August 27 - 29! We’d love for the Tomball community to come on out and enjoy a remarkable evening. Jane Eyre tells the story of an orphaned child who, after experiencing great adversity, comes face-to-face with the power of forgiveness. Through many colorful characters and incredible writing, the audience journeys with her and is the ultimate witness to the transformational power of friendship and real love. This larger-than-life story will be performed by members of the LSC-Tomball Artist Development program alongside members of the Tomball community.
The Fan Carpet shares 'Five Things [They] Learned at the Jane Eyre Rehearsal Day'.
1. This production has been decades in the making For producer Adam, bringing Jane Eyre to the UK is much more than another production. Having first fallen in love with the musical as a young theatre fan in Toronto before seeing it on Broadway, he spent years hoping to one day help bring it to British audiences. That passion was evident from the moment he welcomed the media into rehearsals, making it clear this is very much a labour of love. 2. Jane's voice belongs to the whole company Perhaps the most fascinating creative decision is the production's ensemble-led approach. Rather than limiting the narration to Jane herself, the entire company shares responsibility for telling her story. As John Caird explained, Charlotte Brontë's novel is written almost entirely from Jane's perspective, and this theatrical device allows that first-person narration to remain central while creating something uniquely suited to the stage. 3. Casting wasn't just about finding great singers One theme emerged repeatedly throughout our conversations. This company wasn't assembled simply because its members have exceptional voices. Co-director Megan McGinnis explained that every performer needed to be an outstanding storyteller capable of carrying both dialogue and music with equal conviction. Watching rehearsals, it quickly became clear why that mattered. Every member of the ensemble contributes to telling Jane's journey. 4. The children are central to the story Many productions might have asked adults to portray Jane as a child. Instead, this production places genuine young performers at the heart of its opening chapters. Emily-Rose Samuel and Poppy Jason share the roles of Young Jane and Adèle, bringing an authenticity that immediately grounds Jane's early experiences. As the creative team explained, seeing Jane's childhood through the eyes of a real child was considered essential to the emotional impact of the story. 5. Respecting Charlotte Brontë doesn't mean avoiding change One thing became clear throughout the afternoon. Nobody involved is trying to recreate Charlotte Brontë's novel word for word. Instead, every creative decision has been made with the same goal: preserving the heart of Jane Eyre while allowing musical theatre to tell the story in its own language. Whether through the ensemble narration, the intimate staging or the symbolic design, this production appears determined to honour the novel while embracing everything theatre can uniquely offer.
Victorian Psycho is an odd film that I never really felt knew how funny, tonally offbeat, or scary it wanted to be. There’s a commitment from the cast to make this ‘Norman Bates’ crossed with Jane Eyre work, but instead of a successful transfusion of genre, it’s just a bit odd. (Dylan Blight) Wrexham interviews The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever organiser Moira Gleed. Hundreds flocked to Plas Newydd, Llangollen, on June 20, to take part in The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever. Organised by Moira Gleed and her daughter Rowen, attendees donned red dresses and outfits after Kate Bush’s iconic look in the Wuthering Heights 1978 music video to learn and record the song’s dance routine. The event was open to those of all experience and the practice in the morning was led by two local choreographers: Karen Lyon and Sarah Bright. We’ve recently caught up with Moira Gleed to chat about her experience of this event. 250 tickets were sold, and they sold out within days of being advertised. Moira said she’d never have dreamt such a fantastic opening. “It exceeded expectations, exceeded hope.”
Yorkshire Live recommends a ''Cosy' Yorkshire walk with waterfall and quaint village', ie. Haworth, that is perfect for autumn. Chronicle Live recommends a trip to Haworth too. Digital Spy suggests streaming Frances O'Connor's Emily on the BBC.
Bengali audiences got their own audio Wuthering Heights early last year, courtesy of Mirchi Bangla's long-running Friday Classics: Banglay Biswasera (World's Best) strand:
Date of broadcast – 14th February 2025 Duration: 3:58:50
Cast: Mr. Lockwood - Agni Young Heathcliff & Hareton - Rwitobroto Mukherjee Miss Dean - Madhurima Goswami Heathcliff - Shakya Roy Catherine - Arkoja Acharyya Cathy - Sunayana Bhowmik Edgar & Mr. Earnshaw - RJ Shekhar Hindley - Smeet Kakkad Chaudhuri Linton, Young Edgar & Child Hindley - Sunrito Ghosh Isabella, Frances & Child Catherine - Sramana Roychoudhury Young Miss Dean - Moumi Dutta Zillah & Mrs. Earnshaw - Sujata Ghosh Joseph - Abhirup Banerjee
Crew Music & Sound Designing – Soumo-Shubho Sound Recordist – Sanjit Giri (Post Production Studios) Theme Music – Sayak Chakraborty Theme Animation – Pinku Mondal Poster Designing – Subhadeep Mukherjee Motion Poster – Anwesh De Script Mentoring – Tomali Chaudhuri Assistant Director – Abhirup Banerjee Executive Producer – Sujata Ghosh Produced by: Sound Ideas Translation and Adaptation: Shambhobi Ghosh & Susmita Moitra Direction: Tomali Chaudhuri
A year before, in 2024, a Jane Eyre adaptation was also published. More Recent Articles
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