Vital Spark Theatre expands on a Jane Austen plot in The Watsons, May 2 to 18
Playwright Laura Wade picks up where Austen’s novel about 19-year-old Emma Watson’s love life left off
The Watsons.
Vital Spark Theatre presents Laura Wade’s The Watsons, which explores what happens when a writer loses the plot, at the Jericho Arts Centre from May 2 to 18.
Emma Watson, who’s 19 and new in town, has been cut off by her rich aunt and dumped back in the family home. She and her sisters must marry fast—if not, they face poverty, spinsterhood, or worse, an eternity with their boorish brother and his awful wife. While there are plenty of potential suitors for the girls to dance with, there’s one small problem: Jane Austen didn’t finish the story. Who will write Emma’s happy ending now?
Directed by Joan Bryans and based on Austen’s incomplete novel of the same name, The Watsons is a sparklingly witty play that asks what characters can do when their author abandons them.
Tickets to the production’s North American premiere are available through Vital Spark Theatre.
Post sponsored by Vital Spark Theatre.
Related Articles
Colleen Wheeler and Moya O’Connell have gathered a crack team of actors for micro-sized Shakespearean shows at the City Centre Artist Lodge—and this is only the beginning
With audiences supplying the laugh track, the days of “Must-See TV” return in a different form every night, with heartfelt moments arising among hilarious period-correct details
Theatre Replacement’s nearly sold-out holiday tradition continues at The Cultch’s York Theatre to January 11
Director Barbara Tomasic talks about the Arts Club Theatre Company’s new production of the Louisa May Alcott classic, which still inspires heartfelt reflection on sibling bonds and the challenges of finding a place in the world
Dawn Petten’s megadeveloper slays in a show with pumped-up song-and-dance numbers, subversive satire, and standout performances
Amid the laughter and DIY signs, Pony Cam show at The Cultch captures a world where we can’t step off the ever-racing treadmill
The local arts and culture scene has bright gifts in store this season, from music by candlelight to wintry ballets
At Studio 16, artist weaves mime and clown components in vignettes that explore a person’s search for the meaning of life
Artistic Fraud production portrays the joys and griefs of Jon Lien, a pioneering Newfoundland conservationist whose challenges included a late-life struggle with dementia
Shel Piercy directs the delightfully silly show full of colourful sets and sparkling costumes
Cheer on Pony Cam as chaotic treadmill performance captures the mad rush of life
Duo complicates East-West rivalries and draws on everything from Shakespeare to Gen Alpha slang in a music- and dance-filled installment of the Theatre Replacement tradition
Story follows little orphan Annie as she escapes the cruel Miss Hannigan’s rule and sets out on a search for her parents
In this candid Glitch Theatre production, first-time playwright Alex K. Masse creates an open-hearted, often funny encounter between young neurodivergent and neurotypical co-workers
Carousel Theatre for Young People brings back a hit celebration of drag that juggles song, education, dress-up, and play
With sparkling effects and powerful performances, the Arts Club Theatre Company’s production of the beloved musical captures imaginations of young audience members
Rumble Theatre and ITSAZOO’s sleek production of an unsettling, uncanny drama by Lucy Prebble explores our choices in a pharmaceutical-driven world
With Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, Metro Theatre offers a Pride and Prejudice sequel in which a long-overlooked member of one of literature’s most famous families finds love
Artistic Fraud production at the Firehall Arts Centre centres on conservationist Jon Lien’s powerful work and eventual battle with dementia
Casey and Diana, Burning Mom, Behind the Moon, and Yaga shared the spotlight with prizes for Bard on the Beach’s The Dark Lady, Theatre for Young Audience category’s Otosan, Small Budget dominator The Sound Inside, and much more
The Search Party’s hilariously offbeat theatre production gets a remount at the Anvil Theatre
