The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and Shared Experience present
Anne Brontë’s
THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL
Adapted by Katherine Moar
Directed by Joanna Read LINK TO IMAGES:
The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and Shared Experience announce their co-production of a new stage adaptation of Anne Brontë’s pioneering novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Adapted by award-nominated playwright, Katherine Moar, the production opens at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford on 9 September 2027, with a press night on 14 September, before embarking on a ten-week national tour to Oxford, Bath, Blackpool, Eastbourne and Malvern with other venues to be confirmed.
Drawing on Shared Experience’s distinctive approach to storytelling, the production will use theatrical invention, movement and visual imagery, as Moar’s adaptation spotlights the story’s striking relevance for contemporary audiences. Director of the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Joanna Read, directs this first ever collaboration between Yvonne Arnaud and Shared Experience. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall goes on general sale in Guildford on Friday 6 November 2026, with other dates across the tour to go on sale. Casting and full creative team to be announced.
Commenting on the announcement, Joanna Read says: “It is with great pleasure that we can announce this new production in partnership with our co-producers, Shared Experience. Katherine is a dazzling writing talent, and we were thrilled to commission her to adapt Anne Brontë’s trailblazing novel about a woman’s fight for domestic independence and creative freedom. We look forward to bringing this emotional, gripping and shockingly relevant story to life on stage, both here at the Yvonne Arnaud and in theatres up and down the country.”
Conrad Lynch, Executive Director of Shared Experience, adds: “As we celebrate 50 years of groundbreaking theatre-making, we are thrilled to begin an exciting new chapter with The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. This tour marks our return to theatres across the UK, bringing our signature style with bold storytelling, powerful drama and the distinctive theatricality that has defined the company for five decades. By touring ambitious work to mid-scale venues nationwide, we aim to play a vital role in a vibrant theatre ecology and help shape the future of theatre for audiences across the country.”
‘I’m your wife no longer. I’ll keep your house, I’ll raise your child, but I am not your wife.
And I won’t have you in my bed.’
Who is the mysterious tenant of Wildfell Hall? High on the Yorkshire fells, isolated from society, Helen lives with her son in the ruined and desolate Wildfell Hall. Content until the intrusions of her gossiping neighbours and the affections of local farmer Gilbert force her to reveal her devastating story.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is the compelling story of a woman fleeing a perilous marriage to find safety for her child and her pursuit of a self-sufficient life, eventually finding love on her own terms. Written in the mid-19th century, Anne Brontë’s radical and redemptive novel challenged contemporary notions of a woman’s place in society and is now considered to be one of the first feminist novels.
Katherine Moar is a writer based in London. Her debut play Farm Hall premiered at Jermyn Street Theatre in April 2023 before transferring to Theatre Royal Haymarket in summer 2024. For Farm Hall, Moar was nominated by the Offies for Most Promising Debut Playwright. Moar’s second play Ragdoll opened at Jermyn Street Theatre in October 2025. For Ragdoll, Moar was nominated for Most Promising Playwright by the Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle Awards.
Joanna Read is Director and Chief Executive of the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. She was previously Principal of LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) and Artistic Director of Salisbury Playhouse. Joanna directed the Yvonne Arnaud tours of Sheila’s Island and Ladies of Letters in 2022 and Party Games!in 2024, as well as the ever-popular Yvonne Arnaud annual pantomimes, and the 2025 co-productions with Guildford Shakespeare Company of The Comedy of Errors and A Company of Rascals (The Stage Top 50 Shows of 2025).Joanna’s production of The Hired Man (Salisbury Playhouse) won the TMA Award for Best Musical. Her previous productions include Shadowlands with Julian Glover and Lisa Eichorn and the European première of Arthur Miller’s Playing for Time, as well as national tours of Jamaica Inn, Brassed Offand A Touch of the Sun.