Jane's voice belongs to the whole company

The Fan Carpet shares 'Five Things [They] Learned at the Jane Eyre Rehearsal Day'.

1. This production has been decades in the making

For producer Adam, bringing Jane Eyre to the UK is much more than another production.

Having first fallen in love with the musical as a young theatre fan in Toronto before seeing it on Broadway, he spent years hoping to one day help bring it to British audiences.

That passion was evident from the moment he welcomed the media into rehearsals, making it clear this is very much a labour of love.

2. Jane's voice belongs to the whole company

Perhaps the most fascinating creative decision is the production's ensemble-led approach.

Rather than limiting the narration to Jane herself, the entire company shares responsibility for telling her story.

As John Caird explained, Charlotte Brontë's novel is written almost entirely from Jane's perspective, and this theatrical device allows that first-person narration to remain central while creating something uniquely suited to the stage.

3. Casting wasn't just about finding great singers

One theme emerged repeatedly throughout our conversations.

This company wasn't assembled simply because its members have exceptional voices.

Co-director Megan McGinnis explained that every performer needed to be an outstanding storyteller capable of carrying both dialogue and music with equal conviction.

Watching rehearsals, it quickly became clear why that mattered. Every member of the ensemble contributes to telling Jane's journey.

4. The children are central to the story

Many productions might have asked adults to portray Jane as a child.

Instead, this production places genuine young performers at the heart of its opening chapters.

Emily-Rose Samuel and Poppy Jason share the roles of Young Jane and Adèle, bringing an authenticity that immediately grounds Jane's early experiences.

As the creative team explained, seeing Jane's childhood through the eyes of a real child was considered essential to the emotional impact of the story.

5. Respecting Charlotte Brontë doesn't mean avoiding change

One thing became clear throughout the afternoon.

Nobody involved is trying to recreate Charlotte Brontë's novel word for word.

Instead, every creative decision has been made with the same goal: preserving the heart of Jane Eyre while allowing musical theatre to tell the story in its own language.

Whether through the ensemble narration, the intimate staging or the symbolic design, this production appears determined to honour the novel while embracing everything theatre can uniquely offer.

Explosion Network reviews the film adaptation of Victorian Psycho.

Victorian Psycho is an odd film that I never really felt knew how funny, tonally offbeat, or scary it wanted to be. There’s a commitment from the cast to make this ‘Norman Bates’ crossed with Jane Eyre work, but instead of a successful transfusion of genre, it’s just a bit odd. (Dylan Blight)

Wrexham interviews The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever organiser Moira Gleed.

Hundreds flocked to Plas Newydd, Llangollen, on June 20, to take part in The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever.

Organised by Moira Gleed and her daughter Rowen, attendees donned red dresses and outfits after Kate Bush’s iconic look in the Wuthering Heights 1978 music video to learn and record the song’s dance routine.

The event was open to those of all experience and the practice in the morning was led by two local choreographers: Karen Lyon and Sarah Bright.

We’ve recently caught up with Moira Gleed to chat about her experience of this event.

250 tickets were sold, and they sold out within days of being advertised. Moira said she’d never have dreamt such a fantastic opening.

“It exceeded expectations, exceeded hope.”

Yorkshire Live recommends a ''Cosy' Yorkshire walk with waterfall and quaint village', ie. Haworth, that is perfect for autumn. Chronicle Live recommends a trip to Haworth too. Digital Spy suggests streaming Frances O'Connor's Emily on the BBC.