Jane Eyre, a musical announces its UK Premiere at Southwark Playhouse
Jane Eyre, a musical will receive its UK Premiere at Southwark Playhouse Elephant for a strictly limited season from 28 August – 24 October 2026.
The show will be co-directed by RSC and National Theatre director John Caird, who previously adapted and co-directed the original production of Les Misérables in the West End, on Broadway and across the world.
Most recently he directed the hugely successful and critically acclaimed stage adaptation of Spirited Away at the London Coliseum.
Broadway’s Megan McGinnis, star of Beauty and the Beast, Little Women and Beetlejuice, will co-direct alongside John Caird. Casting and full creative team will be announced soon.
Jane’s journey, from cruelly-used orphan to independent womanhood, centres on the dark and beautiful Thornfield Hall and its owner, the mysterious and conflicted Edward Rochester. Here Jane is caught up in a web of secrets and lies, physical and moral danger, self-doubt, betrayal and heart-breaking loss. How she restores herself, through inner strength, self-knowledge and forgiveness, gives this passionate story the most moving and uplifting resolution.
Charlotte Brontë’s romance, derived from her own life story, is imbued with her own brand of fervent feminism, but also has elements of the gothic and the supernatural, both derived from her profound spiritual beliefs. These complexities and ambiguities are brought to vivid life in the figure of her heroine, the vulnerable, witty, lovable and indomitable Jane.
Jane Eyre originally premiered in Toronto in 1996 and was subsequently produced on Broadway in 2000, being nominated for five Tony Awards. Adam Blanshay Productions is partnering with the original Canadian producers, David and Hannah Mirvish, for the 30th Anniversary year of the show.
