Watermill Theatre to Present New Adaptation of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, Begin. 3 April

The Watermill has announced its next production of Jane Austen's much loved classic Sense and Sensibility, which will play from Thursday 3 April 2014 (press night Monday 7 April at 7.30pm) in a brand new adaptation by Jessica Swale.

Left penniless after their wealthy uncle cheats them of their fortune, sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are forced to leave the comforts of Norland Park and relocate to a cold Devonshire cottage. But when a devilishly handsome stranger arrives at Barton Cottage with the rain-drenched Marianne in his arms, the Dashwood girls are convinced that their fortunes are about to change forever. Impulsive Marianne loses herself in the idea of her hero on horseback, and for a girl who feasts on poetry and music, what else is there to do in Devon but dream of rescue? In Austen's dearly loved classic, we follow the fortunes of the two Dashwood sisters as they chase their dreams from Devonshire to London and back.

Jessica Swale is a theatre director, playwright and co-founder of Red Handed Theatre Company. Jessica made her directorial debut at Shakespeare's Globe in 2010 with Bedlam, the first play by a female playwright ever to be staged at the venue. Other work as director includes The School for Scandal (Park Theatre), Sleuth (Watermill Theatre), The Busy Body, The Belle's Stratagem (Evening Standard Award nomination) and The Rivals (all at Southwark Playhouse), and as Associate Director Jessica has worked with companies including Shakespeare's Globe, Hampstead Theatre and Out of Joint. Jessica's first full length play Blue Stockings premiered at Shakespeare's Globe in August 2013.