Emma Woodhouse thinks she has it all figured out. Fresh from Oxford University and back in her hometown for the summer, she’s ready to do what she does best: sort out everyone else’s lives, whether they like it or not.
Her closest friend Harriet is a total dating disaster, her father keeps disappearing on mysterious errands, and George Knightley refuses to stop pointing out the flaws in her flawless plans. But Emma knows best… right?
Emma is Jane Austen’s timeless classic of romance, friendship, and the tricky business of figuring out what truly makes us happy. Ava Pickett’s irresistible adaptation joyously pulls the story into the twenty-first century, swapping drawing-room duets for dance-floor fillers. It premiered at Rose Theatre, Kingston upon Thames, in 2025, directed by Christopher Haydon.
‘Riotously funny… Pickett cleverly reframes the narrative in the present day and within the tight, comic frame of a wedding… Part of the joy of Pickett’s writing is just how good her jokes are… an undertow of deep feeling… It is writing of the highest quality… Jane Austen would be very proud’
— WhatsOnStage
‘Downright hysterical… Pickett’s script is littered with golden nuggets of comedy… so joyous that maybe even Austen will be laughing in her grave’
— Evening Standard
‘Very funny… a rip roaring modern update from rising star Ava Pickett’
— Time Out
‘Astute and laugh-a-minute funny’
— The Stage
‘An incredibly clever reimagining… some of the best contemporary comedic writing I have ever encountered… had the audience roaring with laughter… a special piece of theatre… a treat to watch from start to finish’
— Theatre & Tonic
‘A sharp, funny, and thoroughly modern rom-com filled with relatable characters, laugh-out-loud moments, and a heart that beats true to Austen’s original themes’
— All That Dazzles
‘An exhilarating and clever take on a well-loved story’
— West End Best Friend
