A new production of Sally Cookson's Jane Eyre adaptation opens today, September 26, in Colchester. Later, the production will be performed in Kingston, Newcastle, and Chester:
A Mercury Theatre Colchester, Rose Theatre & Storyhouse co-production, in association with Northern Stage and supported by a grant from The Royal Theatrical Support Trust Jane Eyre Adapted by Sally Cookson, Mike Akers and the original Company. Directed by Lily Dible With Oscar Adams, Gabriel Akuwudike 26 September to 10 October
13 October to 20 October3 to 7 November 10 to 21 November
“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me.” One woman’s fight for a life that is worthy of her courage, and a love that is worthy of her heart. Orphaned as a young girl, the passionate and sensitive Jane longs to escape the clutches of her cruel aunt. Freedom beckons when she is offered the job of a governess in the house of the brooding and secretive Mr Rochester. As intrigue turns to attraction, Jane finds herself drawn in by Rochester’s mercurial charm. But when the truth finally comes out, she will be forced to choose between the man she wants, and the woman she wants to be. Nearly two centuries on, Charlotte Brontë’s groundbreaking story is as thrilling and relevant as ever in this bold production directed by 2025 RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award-winner Lily Dyble, based on Sally Cookson, Mike Akers and the original company’s trailblazing adaptation.
The exhibition Paula Rego: Visions of Literature (containing the Jane Eyre suite of lithographs) comes to Rugby:
26 September - 21 November Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, Little Elborow Street, Rugby, CV21 3BZ
Explore the extraordinary imagination of one of the great artists, printmakers and storytellers of our time. Paula Rego: Visions of English Literature will present three of the artist’s most ambitious series of graphic works; Jane Eyre, Nursery Rhymes and Peter Pan. Each series will be accompanied by a variety of personal items from the artist, many of which have never been publicly displayed before. Unseen preparatory sketches, etching plates and Rego’s very own childhood copy of Peter Pan will offer audiences an intimate portrayal of the artist’s lifelong fascination with literature and an insight into how the artist transformed this material into startlingly original, rebellious and unexpected images.
The Telegraph and Argus reports that the Old School Room in Haworth has just been given a 'facelift'. The Old School Room in Haworth, whose original section was constructed in 1832 by the Rev. Patrick Brontë, has had five windows on its north-facing wall replaced as part of essential restoration work. Averil Kenyon, chairman of The Brontë Spirit, the charity that maintains the building, said: "The south wall windows were replaced back in 2012, and it has taken us 14 years to raise sufficient funds to undertake the restoration of the north-facing windows. "We’re delighted with the result because the new windows have been designed to match the style of the windows that were originally part of the building." The project cost £24,000 and was supported by grants from the Bernard Sunley Foundation and The Pilgrim Trust. (Harry Williams)
Chester Nub News announces a stage adaptation of Jane Eyre to be performed at Storyhouse starting November 10. A powerful new stage adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's classic Jane Eyre arrives at Storyhouse this autumn. Directed by Lily Dyble, Jane Eyre will run at the Chester venue from Tuesday 10 November to Saturday 21 November. [...] "Charlotte Brontë's revolutionary masterpiece Jane Eyre remains as potent today as it did when it was written in 1847, said Storyhouse creative director Suzie Henderson. "This dynamic and imaginative new stage adaptation promises to present it in visceral and powerful fashion. "I'm delighted to be able to reveal such an exciting cast of talented actors who are working with Lily Dyble in the rehearsal room to bring her thrilling storytelling vision to life for our audiences here at Chester." The role of Jane will be played by Olivia Marcus, while Gabriel Akuwudike will appear as Edward Rochester. The cast also includes Oscar Adams, Aamira Challenger, Millie Faraway, Andrea Gatchalian, Kate Kordel, Robyn Rose-Li and Leo Wan. Jane Eyre is a Storyhouse, Mercury Theatre Colchester, and Rose Theatre co-production, in association with Northern Stage, supported by a grant from the Royal Theatrical Support Trust (RTST). The production is based on Sally Cookson, Mike Akers and the original company's acclaimed adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's groundbreaking novel. Set designer is Anna Yates, costume designer is Khadija Raza, lighting design is by Lucia Sanches Roldan, and Joseff Harris is sound designer and composer. Movement director is Natasha Harrison, Fight director is Rachid Sabitri and intimacy director is Haruka Kuroda. Casting is by Helena Palmer. (Dherran Titherington)
For The Guardian, musicals seem to be a new thing. Reviewing a stage adaptation of Three Men in a Boat: The 135-minute show is punctuated by eight musical numbers and, though it is now almost obligatory for classic literature to be sung and danced (the most recent victim Jane Eyre), this is a logical candidate. (Mark Lawson) The fact that a theatre critic makes that comment and doesn't even know Jane Eyre. The Musical is new to London but not actually new (the first production in Toronto was exactly 30 years ago), so hardly 'most recent' shows quite a degree of ignorance. Many musicals have been written in 30 years.
The Standard reviews the new film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, reminding us of reviews of Joe Wright's take on Pride and Prejudice twenty years ago: Things are moody and at times almost Brontë-esque thanks to Arnaud Potier’s autumnal cinematography and the rolling, rain-lashed hills. (Hannah Pettit)
El País (in Catalan) reviews the novel Mons on trobar-te by Berta Creus. Aïllada al poble diminut de les muntanyes pirinenques on ella i en Sebastià van anar a raure, en bona part perquè era el lloc on vivia un amic comú —que a l’inici de la novel·la es converteix en la nova parella de la protagonista—, la Jara sembla una reencarnació del Heathcliff de Cims borrascosos (una de les citacions que encapçalen la novel·la és d’Emily Brontë), com si perseguint-lo i invocant-lo en tot moment tingués també la prerrogativa de fer-lo present: inquieta i nerviosa, el busca pels paisatges que recorrien o al riu on es banyaven, acariciant els guants de llana que li havia regalat, o en les tres ratlles horitzontals —“una de ben recta que separa el cel gris clar del mar gris fosc, i una de desdibuixada que separa el mar gris fosc del prat mig gris”— de la fotografia que hi ha penjada al menjador. (Ponç Puigdevall) (Translation)
The 2026 edition of the Brontë Women's Writing Festival opens today, September 25, at the Brontë Parsonage Museum:
Fri 25 Sept, 6:00pm Old School Room
Celebrate the opening of the Brontë Women’s Writing Festival 2026 with us! The festival will begin with a special reading from poet Emma Conally-Barklem, before we welcome to the stage screenwriter and director Sally Wainwright. 2026 marks 10 years since the release of Sally Wainwright’s Brontë biopic, To Walk Invisible. The BBC film marked Sally's first venture into historical drama, beginning in 1845 with the sisters' journey to publication, to Branwell Brontë's death in 1848. Her screenplay is infused with quotes taken directly from letters or diary entries by the Brontës, which gave authenticity to the dialogue. Since then, she has seen success with dramas such as Gentleman Jack, Riot Women, Renegade Nell and the concluding chapter of Happy Valley. This evening we will look back at her career highlights and, of course, delve into the making of ‘To Walk Invisible’
Sat 26 Sept, 10:30am Old School Room
Do you have a taste for eerie moorland mansions and dark, mysterious secrets? If so, then this delightfully gothic panel with authors Essie Fox, Heba Al-Wasity and Stephanie Bramwell Lawes will help you discover more about creating the perfect gothic novel... “Now, eighteen years later, Catherine rises from her grave to tell her story – and seek redemption.” Essie Fox is a Sunday Times bestselling author. Her latest novel, Catherine: A retelling of Wuthering Heights, reimagines Emily Brontë's fictional world and tells the famous story from Catherine Earnshaw's point of view. Essie was born and raised in Herefordshire. After studying English Literature at Sheffield University, she moved to London and began a career in magazine and book publishing – before becoming self-employed in commercial art design. Always an avid reader, she now writes historical novels. She also hosts a podcast called Talking the Gothic. “All paths lead to Weavingshaw, a cursed estate on the moors.” Heba Al-Wasity’s debut novel Weavingshaw is a Sunday Times bestseller. This gothic fantasy novel envelops its reader into an atmospheric world, with ghostly encounters and a dark mystery to unfold. Heba Al-Wasity was inspired to write by her own experiences of being born an Iraqi refugee in Libya, growing up in Canada, and attending medical school in the UK. Working as a junior doctor in emergency care and several psychiatric inpatient units, Heba gained first-hand insight into how poverty and deprivation can lead to social inequalities. She is based in Greater Manchester. “There – suddenly – was Thornby Manor. I would never forget the first time I saw it…a talisman of Darkness. An emblem of death.” Stephanie Bramwell-Lawes' debut novel Thornby Manor was inspired by her love of the Brontës and Daphne Du Maurier literary works. Stephanie lures the reader into the great house that “looms above a mist-shrouded lake, its corridors heavy with secrets.” Stephanie Bramwell-Lawes grew up in the historic city of Bath and studied History and Ancient History at Exeter University. A lifelong love of literature led to a career in publishing in 2009, and her passion for books has only continued to grow ever since. Her favourite novels include Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, and anything by Tracy Chevalier. She currently lives in Warwickshire.
Sat 26 Sept, 12:30pm Old School Room
Join us as we welcome author Dr Sharon Blackie to the festival stage for a discussion about her work and her latest book Ripening. Dr. Sharon Blackie is an award-winning and internationally bestselling author, speaker and teacher. As a psychologist and mythologist, the transformative power of story has been at the heart of her work for decades, and she is a recognised pioneer in reclaiming women’s stories. As well as writing seven books of fiction and nonfiction, including the bestselling If Women Rose Rooted and Hagitude, her work has frequently appeared on the BBC and in international media outlets. Sharon is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, an Honorary Member of the UK Association of Jungian Analysts, and has taught and lectured at many academic institutions and cultural festivals around the world. Her much-loved publication The Art of Enchantment is a global Substack Bestseller.
Sat 26 Sept, 2:30pm Old School Room
We will be travelling back in time with authors Liz Flanagan and Anna Caig, as they shed light on how they recreated worlds from the past in their latest novels... Liz Flanagan is an award-winning author from Hebden Bridge. When We Were Divided is her first historical novel for adults. Although her previous books are for children, all her novels combine vivid landscapes and emotional depth with fast-paced, gripping stories. She teaches Creative Writing in many different settings, has worked as a book editor and as Centre Director for Arvon, at Ted Hughes’s former home, Lumb Bank. Anna Caig is obsessed with the hidden voices of women and a compelling underdog story. Luckily, history offers plenty of these. She’s inspired by the glimpses into a woman’s life we get before the historical record moves onto something considered much more important. What was happening in these gaps? Anna grew up one of three sisters in the wilds of West Yorkshire, scribbling novels into notebooks - and Wuthering Heights is her favourite book. She now lives in the ‘howling wilderness’ of the Peak District. Her debut novel, The Wise Witch of Orkney, was inspired by her love of the northern isles of Scotland, folklore, and passion for depicting women in their midlife and beyond, continuing to live rich, adventurous lives.
Sat 26 Sept, 4:00pm Old School Room
Following the success of the Wandering Imaginations project in 2025, we're continuing our literary partnership with Bradford Culture Company and Writers Project of Ghana. Literary Sisters: Accra to Bradford features writers Barsa Ray and Tabitha Bast from Bradford, and Emma Ofosua and Priscilla Adipa from Accra, as they share new work developed as part of this international writers exchange. The project is supported by the British Council and features a companion event at Pa Gya! Festival in Accra, Ghana, in October.
Sat 26 Sept, 5:30pm Old School Room
We're closing a wonderful day of events with an evening of poetry by Emma Conally-Barklem. Emma’s latest collection, The High Flight: 50 Poems Inspired by Emily Brontë's Hawk, was released earlier this year and had its book launch at the Brontë Parsonage Museum. This collection takes its creative inspiration from one of the few details known about Emily Brontë. It is believed she rescued then kept a Merlin hawk who she called Nero. Conally-Barklem explores what it means to be captive and to be wild, the condition of the falconer, its lore and mystery through the enigmatic Brontë sister who stands both inside and outside of time. Emma is an author, poet and yoga teacher based in Yorkshire. She is the author of four collections. Her first collection The Ridings was curated into an exhibition in her hometown, Bradford. Hymns from the Sisters was written after a residency at the Brontë Parsonage Museum. She was a core poet for the BBC’s Contains Strong Language Poetry Festival Bradford 2025 and was a guest of Radio 4’s Front Row, where she talked about the Brontës.
Sun 27 Sept, 10:30am Old School Room
We are delighted to welcome screenwriter and playwright Miriam Battye to the Brontë Women's Writing Festival! Miriam is currently working on a new adaptation of Jane Eyre with Working Title, starring Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education, The White Lotus). She was the first writer-in-residence at Sister Pictures and is the recipient of the 2020 Harold Pinter Commission. Miriam Battye's plays include Strategic Love Play, Scenes with Girls, and The Virgins (starring Ella Bruccoleri), which was released in early 2026. Her plays have been published by Faber. Miriam's screenwriting credits include Dead Ringers, Woman in the Wall and Succession, which earned her a WGA award. Her feature film debut, Extra Geography, is out this year.
Sun 27 Sept, 12:30pm Old School Room
In Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre, Mr Rochester marries the daughter of a West India planter and merchant in Spanish Town, Jamaica, for a large sum of £30,000... To coincide with our 2026 exhibition The Colonial Brontës, we're hosting an insightful conversation with historian Miranda Kaufmann. Her latest book, Heiresses: Marriage, Inheritance and Caribbean Slavery (2025), follows the lives of nine heiresses, tracing their tainted money from its origins in the sugar plantations of the Caribbean. Kaufmann reveals a murky world of inheritance, fortune-hunting and human exploitation. Dr. Miranda Kaufmann is the author of the Wolfson History Prize and Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize-shortlisted book Black Tudors: The Untold Story (2017). She read History at Christ Church, Oxford and is now an Honorary Fellow of the University of Liverpool, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Royal Society of Arts, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London, where she co-convened the What's Happening in Black British History? workshop series from 2014 to 2022. Miranda also served as Lead Historian for the Colonial Countryside project with National Trust houses from 2019 to 2021; and has taken her work into schools with her Teaching Black Tudors project and to the world with her Black Tudors: The Untold Story course with FutureLearn.
Sun 27 Sept, 2:00pm Old School Room
Find out how authors Wendy Pratt and Nic Wilson have approached memoir writing, and how nature and landscape helped them navigate challenging times through their lives. Wendy Pratt is an author, poet and editor. She writes about nature as refuge, and how belonging to landscape gives you a place to connect to your ancestors, even if those ancestors are only joined to you through the land you walk on. The Ghost Lake was published by The Borough Press in 2024. Her latest collection of poetry, Blackbird Singing at Dusk was released in 2024, previous collection, When I Think of My Body as a Horse, won the Poetry Business International Book and Pamphlet Competition 2020. Nic is a writer, editor, Guardian country diarist and author of the nature memoir Land Beneath the Waves, one of BBC Wildlife Magazine's Best Nature Books of 2025. She works for BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, specialising in wildlife, wild plants and environmental issues. Nic has nearly 30 years’ writing experience spanning academia, education, journalism and narrative non-fiction.
Sun 27 Sept, 3:30pm Brontë Event Space in the Old School Room
The Brontës were renowned for their powerful portrayal of moorland, which for centuries had been dismissed as bleak, empty places. Yet, with their blanket bogs, folklore, and habitats, they are some of our most fascinating and vital landscapes. In this friendly 120-minute writing workshop led by authors Clare Shaw (Bloodaxe) and Anna Chilvers (Bluemoose), we’ll read classic and contemporary literature about moors and the unique plants and creatures who live on them - and we’ll write our own stories and poetry in response. Finally, we’ll acknowledge some of the threats facing moors - and together we’ll explore how we can protect them. From experts to first-time writers, everyone is welcome! Anna Chilvers (Bluemoose) and Clare Shaw (Bloodaxe) are popular writers and facilitators who have authored and edited 14 books between them - including novels, poetry and creative non-fiction. In 2025, they co-edited The Book of Bogs (Little Toller) featuring over 40 leading writers of ecology, nature and place. Anna and Clare facilitate Bogwise: a series of bog-themed writing workshops, residentials and reading events. They are also the co-authors of b(l)og, the popular bog-themed substack!
Mon 28 Sept, 7:00pm Online via zoom
This September, the British Library is releasing a very special edition of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. The Wuthering Heights presentation box contains facsimile volumes of the first edition of the novel and Emily’s personal copy of Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell, together with copies of pages from her two manuscript poetry notebooks. Each element has been created directly from the originals held in the British Library’s collections, ensuring exceptional fidelity to the source material. The covers are carefully modelled on bindings from the period, evoking the look and feel of these mid-nineteenth-century literary treasures. We will be joined by Alison Moss from the publishing team, and curators Maddy Smith and Catherine Angerson at the British Library to discuss the process and development of their upcoming publication.
Tue 29 Sept, 7:30pm Online via zoom
'Something is happening at Westerley. Things where they shouldn't be. The shadow of a maid sweeping in the dawn light. But is the house really haunted?' Tune in for a special Festival online event with author Lauren Mooney. Lauren’s debut novel Service was inspired by her six years working as a personal assistant. The novel follows Danielle. She's broke, hates her job as PA to the blithely privileged Jeannie, and now a break-up has left her with nowhere to live. It comes as a surprise when Jeannie suggests that Danielle stay at Westerley, the sprawling Yorkshire estate where she grew up. They need someone to look after the place anyway. Lauren Mooney is a writer from the East Midlands. She works in theatre and audio drama, and has co-run Kandinsky Theatre Company since 2015, making award-winning shows across the UK and Europe. She is a graduate of UEA's Creative Writing Prose MA, where she held the David Higham Scholarship. She lives in East Sussex with her husband Stewart and their tortoise, Sacher Tort.
A singular experience happening today, September 25, in York, part of the York Food and Drink Festival:
Wildflower Wildfore presents Friargate Theatre, Lower Friargate, York, YO1 9SL September 25, 18:30 to 22:00 Poster artwork by Laura Crow. Calligraphy by Emily Hansen, Leaf on Letters
This original immersive theatre event blends storytelling, performance and botanical drinks in a journey through the seasons alongside Charlotte, Anne, Emily and Branwell Brontë, exploring their lives, relationships and literary legacy. “Across the performance, audiences will be served four specially created botanical cocktails, each inspired by a different season and member of the Brontë family, from the bright florals of Elastic Springs to the bittersweet Last Winter Rose,” says event creator Xandra Logan, York actress, writer and producer – and barrister to boot – who has moved into theatre development to make this 90-minute piece for this autumn’s York Food and Drink Festival. “Expect literature, atmosphere, storytelling and a little theatrical magic as the world of the Brontës is brought to life around you. No prior knowledge of the Brontës needed.” Incorporating bespoke cocktails as part of the package, “there will be both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options to suit audience preference”. The cast comprises Vicki Glover as Charlotte Brontë; Xandra Logan as Emily Brontë; Leah Paige as Anne Brontë; Katie Leckey as Branwell Brontë; Adam Marsdin as Patrick Brontë; Miles John as Arthur Bell Nicholls; Laura Haynes Bury as Martha Brown and Molly Meleady-Hanley as The Phantom. “The production is an ensemble piece and the characters all make up an important part of the Brontë story,” says Xandra. “The actors are largely based in this region or derived from here. The production is an ensemble piece and the characters all make up an important part of the Brontë story.” Drawing on her Yorkshire roots, Xandra is “delighted to portray Emily and explore her fierce imagination, independence and connection to the landscape that shaped her work.” (...) West Yorkshire actress Leah Paige, who has experience across stage and screen, will play Anne. “Passionate about bringing overlooked stories to life, I’m thrilled to portray the often-underestimated Anne Brontë, celebrating her quiet strength, kindness and unwavering principles,” says Leah, who will make her feature debut on Amazon Prime later this year. ( CharlesHutchPress)
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