A new stage version of Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, adapted by Katherine Moar, opens at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford on 9 September 2027 before touring the UK. Guildford tickets go on general sale on Friday 6 November.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall begins at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre on Thursday 9 September 2027, with press night on Tuesday 14 September. From Guildford it sets off on a ten-week tour taking in Oxford, Bath, Blackpool, Eastbourne and Malvern, with more venues still to be confirmed.
It is a co-production between the Yvonne Arnaud and Shared Experience, and the first time the two companies have worked together. Joanna Read, who runs the Guildford theatre, directs. Casting and the rest of the creative team have yet to be announced.
Written in the mid-19th century, Anne Brontë’s novel follows Helen, a young mother living alone with her son in a crumbling house high on the Yorkshire fells. Nosy neighbours and the attentions of a local farmer, Gilbert, eventually draw out the story of the dangerous marriage she has escaped. Its picture of a woman determined to live on her own terms has led to it being regarded as one of the first feminist novels.
The staging will draw on Shared Experience’s trademark mix of movement, visual imagery and theatrical invention, and Moar’s version leans into how closely the story speaks to audiences today.
Katherine Moar’s debut play, Farm Hall, opened at Jermyn Street Theatre in April 2023 and transferred to the Theatre Royal Haymarket in summer 2024, earning her an Offies nomination for Most Promising Debut Playwright. Her second, Ragdoll, opened at Jermyn Street Theatre in October 2025 and brought Most Promising Playwright nominations at the Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle awards.
Joanna Read is Director and Chief Executive of the Yvonne Arnaud, and was previously Principal of LAMDA and Artistic Director of Salisbury Playhouse. Her Guildford work includes the touring productions of Sheila’s Island and Ladies of Letters in 2022 and Party Games! in 2024, while her Salisbury staging of The Hired Man won the TMA Award for Best Musical.
Read said: “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, which is marking its 50th year, said the 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.”
The tour dates confirmed so far:
- 9-18 September 2027: Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
- 28 September - 2 October: Oxford Playhouse, Oxford
- 5-9 October: Theatre Royal, Bath
- 12-16 October: Blackpool Grand Theatre, Blackpool
- 19-23 October: Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne
- 16-20 November: Festival Theatre, Malvern
In Guildford, evening performances are at 7.30pm, with 2.30pm matinees on Saturday 11 and Saturday 18 September. Tickets start at £19 and go on general sale on Friday 6 November 2026, and the production is recommended for ages 14 and over. The other tour dates will go on sale later.
For more information, visit the official website.
