Guildford School of Acting has commissioned ‘rising star playwright’ (Time Out) Louis Emmitt-Stern to create a new adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park. This new version focuses on how Austen made use of a piece of British theatrical history in her novel: a performance of the German Romantic drama Lovers’ Vows by August von Kotzebue, which Austen saw in an English production at Bath Theatre Royal translated by the celebrated actress Elizabeth Inchbald. The version will not be a conventional one, instead, it will be adapted through research and development with GSA MA Acting students led by Programme Leader Dr Darren Tunstall, and in collaboration with the Jane Austen House museum in Chawton, Hampshire.
Scenes from the adaptation were presented at the Jane Austen House on July 25th before a packed audience. The performance of the first version of this adaptation was originally meant for the garden, but the weather did not allow for an outdoor showing, so the piece was rapidly rehearsed for the Reading Room at the House, and after the performance, the cast, writer and director led a post-show discussion with an enthusiastic audience.
Further research and development with the playwright at GSA is planned for the Autumn with the new intake of MA and MFA Acting students, prior to a full production at Guildford in May 2025. The adaptation is timed to coincide with the anniversary of Austen’s novel, which is being commemorated at the Jane Austen House in a series of events.
The playwright Louis Emmitt-Stern is a recent graduate of GSA and Central School of Speech and Drama, and winner of the Tony Craze award 2021 for his debut professional play. This play sold out at the Vault Festival before transferring to Soho Theatre in June 2023; a new production of it will perform at Melbourne in October this year. Louis is currently Oxford Playhouse writer-in-residence, and his latest play will premiere at Southwark Playhouse in September.
The Mansfield Park Project is being produced and, in its first iteration as a work-in-progress was directed, by Dr Darren Tunstall, Associate Professor and Programme Leader of MA Acting at GSA. His collaboration with the Jane Austen House began in the summer of 2023 when he made several short films based on scenes from Austen’s novels for the museum’s ‘Act Your Age’ initiative. These films can be seen on the museum website here.
In October, up to 30 GSA actors will participate in further workshops on the script with the playwright and producer/director. A professional director for the full production at Guildford will be invited to take part in these workshops at GSA. The world premiere of the full production of Louis Emmitt-Stern’s new adaptation of Mansfield Park, starring actors from the MA and MFA Acting cohorts, will take place in the PATS Theatre in May 2025.
The project is supported by the Jane Austen’s House museum and the Ridgwick Arts Society.