Underdog: The Other Bronte

Anne Brontë Finally Gets the Last Word

Charlotte and Emily wrote their way into the canon. Anne got treated as an afterthought, even by her own sisters, which is the joke buried in the title: this isn't just the story of the other Brontë, it's the story of the other, other one.

Sarah Gordon's script won the 2020 Nick Darke Award before premiering at the National Theatre's Dorfman in 2024, with Gemma Whelan playing Charlotte. Cotswold Players bring their own version to the Playhouse for a five-night run, treating the sisters less as gothic literary saints and more as three siblings jostling for the same scrap of attention, jealousy and loyalty tangled together throughout.

Reviewers at the National called it glib in places and sharp in others, which makes it exactly the kind of script that plays better live than it reads about.

Tuesday 22 to Saturday 26 September 2026 · Cotswold Playhouse, Parliament Street, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 1LW · Starts 7:30pm