NS Archive 2024: Underdog: The Other Other Brontë
A Northern Stage and National Theatre production
7 – 22 Jun 2024
Reader, I think you know who is most quotable
Charlotte Brontë has a confession to make about how one sister became an idol, and the other became known as the third sister. You know the one. No, not that one. The other, other one… Anne.
This is not a story about well-behaved women.
This is a story about the power of words. It’s about sisters and sisterhood, love and jealousy, support and competition.
Directed by Northern Stage Artistic Director Natalie Ibu (The White Card), Sarah Gordon’s (The Edit) new play is an irreverent retelling of the life and legend of the Brontë sisters, and the story of the sibling power dynamics that shaped their uneven rise to fame.
Cast
Gemma Whelan Charlotte Brontë
Adele James Emily Brontë
Rhiannon Clements Anne Brontë
James Phoon Branwell Brontë/Ensemble
Nick Blakeley Mrs Ingham/Elizabeth Gaskell/Ensemble
Julian Moore-Cook as George Smith/Mr Heger/Ensemble
Kwaku Mills Tabby/Cunliffe/Ensemble
Adam Donaldson Thomas Newby/Mr Brocklehurst/Ensemble
Creative Team
Playwright Sarah Gordon
Director Natalie Ibu
Movement Director Ingrid Mackinnon
Associate Movement Director Ana Beatriz Meireles
Set and Costume Designer Grace Smart
Lighting Designer Zoe Spurr
Associate Lighting Designer Charlotte Burton
Sound Designer & Additional Music Alexandra Faye Braithwaite
Staff Director Natasha Haws
Fight and Intimacy Director Haruka Kuroda
Casting Director Naomi Downham
Dialect Coach Charmian Hoare
Company Voice Work Shereen Ibrahim
Production & Stage Management
Producer Fran Miller
Production Manager Clíona Ní Mhocháin
Dramaturg Stewart Pringle
Company Stage Manager Ruth Taylor
Deputy Stage Manager Morag Lavery
Assistant Stage Managers Zoe Gledhill and Ian Connop
Deputy Production Manager Tabitha Piggott
Project Draughting Tom Atkinson
Digital Art Daniel Radley-Bennett
Costume Supervisor Tash Prynne
Assistant Costume Supervisor Mariama Bojang
Wigs, Hair & Make-up Supervisor Suzanne Scotcher
Running Wardrobe Supervisor Michelle MacMillan
Props Supervisor Matilde Marangoni
Props Buyer Kinga Czynciel
Props Making Manager Michael Garrett
Props Making Coordinator Michelle McLucas
Lighting Supervisor Katie Lands
Lighting Programmer Reese Graham
Production Sound Engineer Matt Berry
Sound Operator Jacob Dicker
Radio Mics Supervisor Rowena Edwards
Radio Mics Technician Ethan Traynor
Stage Supervisors Lee Harrington and Yuri Queiroz
Rigging Supervisor James ‘Luka’ Goodsall
Automation Mark Stiven and Patricia Andreucci
Construction Supervisor David Cotton
Scenic Art Supervisor Lindsay Tuffnell
Production Photographer Isha Shah
Production Photos
Behind the Scenes
Reviews
★★★★★ “As joyously invigorating as a brisk walk over the yorkshire moors” – iNews
★★★★★ “A revelation” – The i
★★★★ “Raucously funny new play” – London Theatre
★★★★ “an ambitious retelling of histor, one which celebrates female strength above all else” – Broadway World
★★★★ “A compelling tale of sisterly rivalries” – The Reviews Hub
★★★★ “A sensational and shocking evening of theatre” – West End Best Friend
Programme
View the programme for Underdog:The Other Other Brontë here.