The Watsons (play)

Last updated
The Watsons
Written by Laura Wade (play)
Jane Austen (unfinished novel)
Date premiered3 November 2018
Place premiered Minerva Theatre, Chichester
Original languageEnglish

The Watsons is a play by Laura Wade adapted from the unfinished novel of the same name by Jane Austen.

Production

The play made its premiere at the Minerva Theatre in Chichester from 3 November to 1 December 2018. Following the production's success, it transferred to the Menier Chocolate Factory in London, running from 20 September to 16 November, 2019, with favourable reviews. [1]

In the course of the play, at the point where Jane Austen’s original story breaks off, the dramatist comes onstage (played by an actor in the part of a maid) and enters into a protracted debate with the rebellious characters about how it should continue. The Guardian's reviewer commented that "one of the play's many pleasures is its capacity to endlessly take us by surprise. We go in expecting a literary exercise and come out having seen a philosophical comedy". [2] Kathryn Hughes noted in The Times Literary Supplement how the play acknowledges Luigi Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author as its precursor and how the modern audience is challenged to question its own escapism in indulging in yet another Regency drama. [3]

The script has since been published by Oberon Books. [4] It was announced in addition that the play was due to transfer to the Harold Pinter Theatre in London's West End in May 2020. [5] However, performances had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though the producers intend to remount the production at a later date. [6]

Related Research Articles

Samantha Jane Bond is an English actress. She played Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films during the Pierce Brosnan era, and appeared in Downton Abbey as the wealthy widow Lady Rosamund Painswick, sister of Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham. On television, she played "Auntie Angela" in the sitcom Outnumbered and the villain Mrs Wormwood in the CBBC Doctor Who spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures. She also originated the role of "Miz Liz" Probert in the Rumpole of the Bailey series. She is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West End theatre</span> Mainstream professional theatre staged in and near the West End of London

West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London. Along with New York City's Broadway theatre, West End theatre represents the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London. Famous screen actors, British and international alike, frequently appear on the London stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finborough Theatre</span> Theatre in London

The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world premieres of new plays primarily from the English speaking world including North America, Canada, Ireland, and Scotland including work in the Scots language, alongside rarely seen rediscovered 19th and 20th century plays. The venue also presents new and rediscovered music theatre.

<i>Mary Poppins</i> (musical) 2004 stage musical

Mary Poppins is a musical with music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman and additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, and a book by Julian Fellowes. The musical is based on the similarly titled Mary Poppins children's books by P. L. Travers and the 1964 Disney film, and is a fusion of various elements from the two, including songs from the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Hunter</span> British actress (born 1957)

Aikaterini Hadjipateras, known professionally as Kathryn Hunter, is a British–American actress and theatre director, known for her appearances as Arabella Figg in the Harry Potter film series, Eedy Karn in the Disney+ Star Wars spinoff series Andor, as the Three Witches in Joel Coen's The Tragedy of Macbeth, and most recently as Swiney in Yorgos Lanthimos's Poor Things. Hunter was born in New York to Greek parents, and was raised in England. She trained at RADA where she is now an associate, and regularly directs student productions.

<i>The Watsons</i> Unfinished novel by Jane Austen

The Watsons is an abandoned novel by Jane Austen, probably begun about 1803. There have been a number of arguments advanced as to why she did not complete it, and other authors have since attempted the task. A continuation by Austen's niece was published in 1850. The manuscript fragment itself was published in 1871. Further completions and adaptations of the story have continued to the present day.

Laura Wade is an English playwright.

<i>Once</i> (musical) 2011 musical

Once is a musical based on the 2007 film of the same name by John Carney. Like the film, music and lyrics were by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, including the Academy Award-winning "Falling Slowly". The book for the musical was written by Enda Walsh. The musical premiered at the New York Theatre Workshop in 2011, before transferring to Broadway in 2012. The production received eleven 2012 Tony Award nominations, and won eight including Best Musical, Best Actor and Best Book. The musical also won the 2012 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical and the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. It has since spawned a London production, with a North American Tour which started on 1 October 2013. In the musical, the cast also serves as the orchestra. A minimalist set is used, including a bar in center stage with chairs lining stage left and right. Exiting cast members simply step to the side of the stage and sit down. They serve as the orchestra from these chairs. The bar is used before the show and at intermission as a working bar for theater patrons.

<i>The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time</i> (play) Play by Simon Stephens, adapted from the novel

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a play by Simon Stephens based on the novel of the same name by Mark Haddon. During its premiere run, the play tied the record for winning the most Olivier Awards (seven), including Best New Play at the 2013 ceremony. The play is a National Theatre Production, in association with Frantic Assembly, who specialised in the movement direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Norton (actor)</span> English actor (born 1985)

James Geoffrey Ian Norton is an English film, television, and stage actor. He is known for roles in the television series Happy Valley, Grantchester, War & Peace and McMafia. He played the title role in the 2019 film Mr. Jones. He earned a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2015 for his performance as Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley.

<i>My Name Is Lucy Barton</i> 2016 novel by Elizabeth Strout

My Name is Lucy Barton is a 2016 New York Times bestselling novel and the fifth novel by the American writer Elizabeth Strout. The book was first published in the United States on January 12, 2016 through Random House. The book details the complicated relationship between the titular Lucy Barton and her mother.

<i>Le Père</i> Play written by Florian Zeller

Le Père is a play by the French playwright Florian Zeller that won in 2014 the Molière Award for Best Play. It premiered in September 2012 at the Théâtre Hébertot, Paris, with Robert Hirsch (André) and Isabelle Gélinas (Anne).

<i>Come from Away</i> Musical first produced in 2013

Come from Away is a musical, with book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein. It is based on the events in the Newfoundland town of Gander during the week following the September 11 attacks, when 38 planes, carrying approximately 7,000 passengers, were ordered to land unexpectedly at Gander International Airport. The characters in the musical are based on actual Gander residents and stranded travelers they housed and fed.

<i>The Inheritance</i> (play) 2018 play by Matthew Lopez

The Inheritance is a play by Matthew López that is inspired by the 1910 novel Howards End by E. M. Forster. The play premiered in London at the Young Vic in March 2018, before transferring to Broadway in November 2019.

<i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i> (2018 play) Play by Aaron Sorkin

To Kill a Mockingbird is a 2018 play based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Harper Lee, adapted for the stage by Aaron Sorkin. It opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on December 13, 2018. The play opened in London's West End at the Gielgud Theatre in March 2022. The show follows the story of Atticus Finch, a lawyer in 1930s Alabama, as he defends Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of rape. Varying from the book, the play has Atticus as the protagonist, not his daughter Scout, allowing his character to change throughout the show. During development the show was involved in two legal disputes, the first with the Lee estate over the faithfulness of the play to the original book, and the second was due to exclusivity to the rights with productions using an earlier script by Christopher Sergel. During opening week, the production garnered more than $1.5 million in box office sales and reviews by publications such as the New York Times, LA Times and AMNY were positive but not without criticism.

The Lehman Trilogy is a three-act play by Italian novelist and playwright Stefano Massini. It follows the lives of three immigrant brothers from when they arrived in America and founded an investment firm through the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. It has been translated into 24 languages, staged by such directors as Luca Ronconi and Sam Mendes, and was later published as a novel in English. An English translation of the play by Mirella Cheeseman was produced in the West End in 2018 by the National Theatre. The production was directed by Sam Mendes and included the cast of Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles. It earned five Laurence Olivier Award nominations.

<i>Six</i> (musical) British musical comedy

Six is a British musical comedy in the style of a pop concert. Its music, book, and lyrics were written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. It is a modern retelling of the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII, presented in the form of a singing competition. In the show, each of the wives take turns telling their story to determine who suffered the most from their shared husband.

Home, I'm Darling is a play by Laura Wade.

<i>Austentatious</i> Long-form improvised comedy show

Austentatious (An Improvised Jane Austen Novel) is a long-form improvised comedy show, in the style of a Jane Austen novel, where each show is improvised by a six-strong cast, based on a title suggested by a member of the audience. Beginning in 2011 in London, the original cast members took the show to the Edinburgh Festival Free Fringe in the summer of 2012. Following their initial success, they began performing a monthly show in London, transferring to the West End in 2017, and have since performed on BBC Radio 4, on tour, and at the Edinburgh Fringe.

<i>Pride and Prejudice*</i> (*sort of) 2018 play by Isobel McArthur

Pride and Prejudice* is a play by Isobel McArthur, with songs, based on Jane Austen's novel. The play is designed for a cast of five or six women, each playing a servant and several of the main characters. After an initial production in Scotland in 2018 and a tour in 2019–20, it opened in the West End in 2021 and toured again in 2022–23. The production won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play.

References

  1. Matthew Gans, Playbill, 12 November 2019
  2. Michael Billington, "Austen heroine brought stunningly back to life", The Guardian, 8 November 2018
  3. Kathryn Hughes, "Revolting characters", TLS 18 October, 2019
  4. Laura Wade, The Watsons, London 2019, ISBN   9781786826381
  5. Playbill, 12 November 2019
  6. "The West End run of Laura Wade's The Watsons has been cancelled". Evening Standard. 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2020-05-23.