The Watsons, New Play Adapted from Jane Austen's Unfinished Novel, Will Move to the West End

Laura Wade's new drama The Watsons is West End-bound. Following celebrated runs at the Chichester Festival Theatre and Menier Chocolate Factory, the new work will arrive at the Harold Pinter Theatre on May 8, 2020 ahead of an opening night set for May 19.

Picking up from an unfinished novel by Jane Austen, The Watsons follows Emma, nineteen and new in town, who has been cut off by her wealthy aunt. She needs to marry and fast, or be faced with a life of poverty and spinsterhood stuck in her humdrum family home. Luckily, she has plenty of prospective suitors asking to dance, from dashing socialite Tom Musgrave to the stinking rich, socially awkward Lord Osborne, but struggles with which partner to pick.

Samuel West directs the production, which features scenic design by Ben Stones, lighting design by Richard Howell, sound design by Gregory Clarke, movement by Mike Ashcroft and music by Isobel Waller-Bridge.

The Watsons is scheduled to play a limited West End engagement through September 26, 2020. Casting will be announced soon.