Brontë. The World Without in Stratford; Brontë in Leamington Spa and Christine Alexander in Durham

1.  A world première in Stratford, ON (Canada):

Stratford Festival
Brontë: The World Without
by Jordi Mand
Director Vanessa Porteous
With Beryl Bain, Jessica B. Hill and Andrea Rankin

World première commissioned by the Stratford Festival
Studio Theatre
June 6 – October 13
Opens June 21

Three sisters live in poverty with their ailing father and dissolute, dying brother, jealously guarding the secrets of their disappointed hearts. But desperation drives them to a life-changing choice, as they reveal the literary talents that will win them world-wide fame.

This production draws on creative learning and development fostered in the Stratford Festivalʼs Laboratory.

2. In Leamington Spa, UK

Loft Theatre presents
Brontë
by Polly Teale
Wed 06 – Sat 16 June
Loft Theatre
Victoria Colonnade
Leamington Spa CV31 3AA, UK

Directed by Martin Cosgrif
Cast:  Julia Findlay, Karen Scott, Tara Lacey, Hannah Burt, Jack Sargent, Mark Crossley.

Brontë was first performed by Shared Experience Theatre Company at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford in August 2005, and then toured the U.K. to critical acclaim. It was subsequently revived at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury. The play explores the real and the imaginary worlds of the Brontes, as their fictional characters come to haunt their creators. It begins in what appears to be a rehearsal space, and the actors gradually become their characters and the starkly naturalistic scenes are interspersed with moments from their novels. The sisters are presented as the down to earth, isolated women they were, and the play seeks to discover why they became the literary phenomenon they remain to this day.

3.  In Durham

Reflections on Charlotte Brontë: A Personal View of  'An Independent Will' (Talk and Book Launch)
by Professor Christine Alexander
6th June, 17.30, in the Kenworthy Hall, St Mary’s College.

This talk will reflect on aspects have impressed me over many years of research on her juvenilia, novels, drawings and paintings. Much of this research is collected in the new Anniversary Edition of The Oxford Companion to The Brontës, which will be launched by Professor Michael O’Neill after the talk. Refreshments will be available.
of Charlotte Brontë’s life and work that

This event is co-organised with St Mary’s College