Meet the Watsons!

Andrew Davies' adaptation of Sanditon isn't the only adaptation of an unfinished novel which is making headlines in the UK at the moment. After a sell-out run in its debut at the Chichester Festival Season in 2018, The Watsons has made its way to London where it's running until 16th November. Sadly as the time of writing, the entire run is sold out, but given the five star ratings it has already received and its credentials (it's written by Laura Wade, this year's recipient of the Oliver Award for Best New Comedy), surely there will be future opportunities to meet the Watsons! The play's start point is Jane Austen's unfinished novel - The Watsons. Abandoned in 1805, Jane's 68 page handwritten partial manuscript sold at auction in 2011 for almost a million pounds and is now the property of the Bodleian Library. Whereas Andrew Davies filled in the blanks left by Austen for Sanditon, Wade has taken a slightly different approach. With the novel left unfinished, what can the characters do with their author abandons them? Who will write a happy ending for the tale's heroine, Emma Watson, now? Click here to visit the Menier Chocolate Factory theatre website where returns will be listed daily. You can also sign up for updates on the future life of the show.