Preview: Austen’s Women at South Shields Customs House

JANE AUSTEN’S HEROINES TAKE TO THE STAGE AS PART OF THE WRITE FESTIVAL 2017

Austen’s Women

South Shields Customs House

Sunday 25^th June 2017

Jane Austen’s heroines are being brought to life on stage at The Customs House as part of the Write Festival 2017 in South Tyneside.

The critically-acclaimed Austen’s Women sees writer and performer Rebecca Vaughan become Emma Woodhouse, Lizzy Bennet, Mrs Norris, Miss Bates and nine other beautifully observed women, in critical moments from Austen’s novels.

Rebecca Vaughan stars as 13 heroines

from Jane Austen’s novels.

They include her major works, like Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma, as well as lesser-known or unfinished works, such as the Juvenilia collection of her childhood writings and incomplete novel Sandition.

Austen’s Women proved a hit for Dyad Productions at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in both 2009 and 2013, following in the footsteps of its previous shows, and was also a success at the Adelaide Fringe in 2010 and Sydney Writer’s Festival 2016.

It is directed by Olivier Award winner Guy Masterson, whose production of Morecambe, celebrating the life of comedian Eric Morecambe, won the Olivier Award for best entertainment in 2010.

Ray Spencer MBE, executive director of The Customs House, said: ““We are always on the lookout for first-rate drama to bring to The Customs House and Austen’s Women certainly fits the bill.

“It has won countless five-star reviews across the world, is directed by an Olivier Award winner and its star has praise heaped upon her every time she performs. It’s a winning combination and a must-see.”

This year marks the 200^th anniversary of Austen’s death.

Her books, set among the English middle and upper classes, are notable for their wit, social observation and insights into the lives of early 19^th century women.

They remain some of literature’s most celebrated works.

Rebecca Vaughan said: “This entertaining evocation of Jane Austen’s timeless works is a treat for Austen lovers - who’ll fall in love with these characters all over again – and a perfect primer for the uninitiated.”

The Write Festival is a celebration of writing in all of its forms and takes place at The Word, National Centre for the Written Word, in South Shields, from June 21 to 25.

Tickets:

Austen’s Women starts at 7pm on Sunday 25^th June 2017, at The Customs House, Mill Dam, South Shields.

Tickets are priced £15, or £12 for Friends of The Customs House. Contact the box office on (0191) 454 1234 or book online at www.customshouse.co.uk.