Photos: EMMA In Rehearsal At Rose Theatre

Rose Theatre will present the world premiere of Emma, Ava Pickett’s new adaptation of Jane Austen’s timeless story of romance, friendship, and the tricky business of figuring out what truly makes us happy. Check out photos from inside the rehearsal room!

Directed by Artistic Director Christopher Haydon (Never Let Me Go, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Grounded), this staging will swap drawing room duets for dance floor-fillers, bringing Emma’s matchmaking and mischief into the 21st century. The production will run from 17 September through 11 October, with a press night on Monday 22 September.

The cast will feature Amelia Kenworthy (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) as Emma Woodhouse, Kit Young (Shadow and Bone, ALIEN: Earth) as George Knightley, Nigel Lindsay (Kiss Me Kate, Four Lions) as Mr. Woodhouse, and Lucy Benjamin (EastEnders, Detectorists) as Mrs. Bates. They will be joined by Josh Bilyard as Rob Martin, Jessica Brindle (Top Girls at the National Theatre) as Isabella Woodhouse, Bobby Lockwood (The Outpost, Wolfblood) as Elton, Sofia Oxenham (Poldark, Extraordinary) as Harriet Smith, and Adrian Richards (A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the RSC, Noises Off! in the West End) as John Knightley.

The creative team will include Lily Arnold (set and costume design), Kloé Dean (movement direction), Philip Gladwell (lighting design), Kieran Lucas (composer and sound design), Haruka Kuroda (intimacy and fight direction), Juliet Horsley CDG (casting), Claudette Williams (voice and dialect coaching), and Melissa Mowry (associate director – Drama League Rose Directing Fellow).

This new adaptation will mark the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth. Fresh from Oxford University and back in her hometown for the summer, Emma Woodhouse is ready to do what she does best: sort out everyone else’s lives, whether they like it or not. Her closest friend Harriet is a total dating disaster, her father keeps disappearing on mysterious errands, and George Knightley refuses to stop pointing out the flaws in her flawless plans. But Emma knows best—or so she thinks.

A Rose Theatre production, Emma will be presented with support from Eleanor Lloyd Productions and Eileen Davidson Productions. For more information, visit www.rosetheatre.org.