Bring on the Brontes: Natasha Barnes stars as Charlotte in Wasted. Who are her famous sisters?

On Emily Bronte's 200th birthday today (30 July 2018), casting - including Funny Girl star Natasha Barnes - is announced for WASTED, the new rock musical based on the life of the Bronte sisters and their brother Branwell, coming to Southwark Playhouse in September...

In Wasted, Natasha Barnes is Charlotte Bronte, alongside Siobhan Athwal and Molly Lynch as her sisters Emily and Anne, with Matthew Jacobs Morgan completing the Bronte sibling clan as brother Branwell.

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. 

Bios

Natasha Barnes plays Charlotte Brontë. Theatre includes Funny Girl (UK Tour, covered and played Fanny Brice at Menier Chocolate Factory and Savoy Theatre),Cinderella (London Palladium), Tryst (Tabard Theatre), American Idiot (Arts Theatre), The Boy Who Fell Into a Book (Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough), Chess(Union Theatre), Snow White (Old Vic Theatre and Tour), Come Dancing (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Lend Me a Tenor (Gielgud Theatre), I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Spring Awakening (Lyric Hammersmith and Novello Theatre). Television includes Doc Martin and Doctors. Radio includes The Day I Finished off Charlotte Brontë, The Wonderful World of Allaetitia and Alice Through The Looking Glass. Concerts include Mack and Mabel (Hackney Empire).

Siobhan Athwal plays Emily Brontë. Theatre credits include Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare’s Globe), Trip of a Lifetime (Graeae Theatre), Billionaire Boy (UK Tour), Bollywood Rose, The Infidel (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Robin Hood (York Theatre Royal), The Life (English Theatre Frankfurt), The Queen and I (Arcola), Bend it Like Beckham (Phoenix Theatre), Viva Forever (Piccadilly Theatre). Film includes Walking on Sunshine and Wah Wah Girls! Television includes Doctors and EastEnders.

Molly Lynch plays Anne Brontë. Theatre credits include Sunset Boulevard (UK tour), Carousel, Sweeney Todd (Coliseum), Fiddler on the Roof (Grange Park Opera) and Sacred Hearts (Latitude). 

Matthew Jacobs Morgan plays Branwell Brontë. Theatre credits include Our Town (Almeida) and Tommy (New Wolsey Theatre). Film includes Bookish Young Man and Wakan Tanka. Television includes Midsomer Murders, Wasted, Love, Nina, Cuffs and My Almost Famous Family.