The 250th anniversary of one of Bath’s favourite writers is set to be celebrated at the Theatre Royal with a new stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s comedy of manners, Emma. Adapted by Ryan Craig and directed by Stephen Unwin, Theatre Royal Bath Productions will present the production in Bath from Thursday 11 to Saturday 20 September, prior to a national tour.
The beautiful, high-spirited Emma Woodhouse is determined that she will never marry but loves to meddle in her friends’ and neighbours’ relationships. So begins a comic journey through the lives and loves of Emma’s friends and neighbours, embracing the burgeoning Regency social scene of Bath and Weymouth. But as the romantic web she weaves amongst her friends becomes ever more entangled, will Emma herself get swept up in true love’s wake…?
The cast includes rising star India Shaw-Smith, soon to be seen on TV in Spartacus: House of Ashur, as Austen’s heroine Emma Woodhouse, alongside Oscar Batterham as Philip Elton, William Chubb as Mr Woodhouse, Jade Kennedy as Jane Fairfax, Peter Losasso as Frank Churchill, Rose Quentin as Augusta Hawkins, Daniel Rainford as Robert Martin, Ed Sayer as George Kinightley, Maiya Louise Thapar as Harriet Smith, with Jordan Kilshaw, Lukwesa Mwamba, Charlie Norton, Hugh Osborne and Jordan Stamatiadis as understudies.
Image: The cast of Emma at Theatre Royal Bath in rehearsals, credit Simon Annand
Emma is adapted by Ryan Craig, whose recent works includes the world premiere of Charlotte and Theodore starring Kris Marshall in the Ustinov Studio and 1984 starring Keith Allen in the Main House. In 2005 he won an Edinburgh Festival Fringe First for Broken Road and was nominated for Most Promising Playwright at the Evening Standard Awards for What We Did to Weinstein at the Menier Chocolate Factory. Award-winning British theatre and opera director Stephen Unwin has directed almost 100 professional productions. In 1993, he founded English Touring Theatre and in 2008, he became Artistic Director of the new Rose Theatre in Kingston, which he ran until January 2014. Stephen has written five original plays including Laughing Boy which opened at Jermyn Street Theatre in 2024 and appeared at the Theatre Royal Bath.
A fantastic creative team includes set and costume design by Ceci Caff, lighting design by Ben Ormerod, sound design by John Leonard, casting director is Ginny Schiller CDG, associate director is Millie Gaston, choreographer is Natasha Harrison, with composition by Matthew Scott.
Following its opening performances in Bath, the production will tour to venues across the UK including Yvonne Arnaud, Guildford; Birmingham Rep; Sheffield Lyceum; Malvern Theatre; Oxford Playhouse; Chichester Festival Theatre and Lighthouse, Poole.
EMMA appears at the Theatre Royal Bath from Thursday 11 to Saturday 20 September. To book tickets contact the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 or book online at theatreroyal.org.uk.
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