The world premiere production of Wasted – giving an access-all-areas account of the struggles, heartbreaks and triumphs of the three Bronte sisters Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and their brother Branwell – opens at Southwark Playhouse this autumn.
Playing from 6 September to 6 October 2018, Wasted is directed by Adam Lenson (Superhero) with music by Christopher Ash (Showstoppers – Olivier Award winner for Best Entertainment) and book and lyrics by Carl Miller (Emil and the Detectives, National Theatre).
Through the lens of a rock documentary, this is the musical account of the Brontes: brought up in a remote, poverty-stricken town in Yorkshire, without money or opportunity, they fought ill health, unrequited love and family feuds to write some of the most celebrated literature including Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.
Never afraid to rebel against expectations, the lives behind the pages expose a struggling, squabbling, ferociously driven, drug-fuelled crash and burn trajectory from obscurity to celebrity and ultimately to their untimely deaths. The Brontës ask – was it all wasted?
Early performances of Wasted were developed at BEAM and showcased at Theatre Royal Stratford East’s Musical Theatre Workshop. It played four ‘work in progress’ performances at West Yorkshire Playhouse as part of their Brontë Season in autumn 2016. Casting and further creatives are to be announced.
