Review: Jane Eyre Convention

📍 Just The Tonic at The Mash House

🗓️ 22nd August 2026

🎟️ PR Invite

Theatre Caddis have brought their production of Jane Eyre Convention to Edinburgh Fringe this year. Written by Eleanor Zeal, the play looks at the Charlotte Brontë classic from the perspective of a group of superfans and one attendee who unexpectedly finds herself there after being dropped off by her husband. Over the course of the hour, they act out scenes from the book and share their thoughts and interpretations of what happens.

When you first walk into the theatre, you’re welcomed to the convention and handed a lanyard, with biscuits also available — really creating the immersive nature of the show from the beginning. You’re not just watching a play, you’re part of this convention.

The retelling of the book in this format is actually really clever because it doesn’t feel like you’re watching a group of actors perform a play of the famous book. Instead, you’re watching a bunch of superfans, which makes it all the more enjoyable, with plenty of humour mixed in, audience interactions that make you feel part of their experience and plenty of chaos throughout the sixty minutes as they compete for roles and share their own interpretations of the text.

Each of the characters has their own unique personality, with some working well together and others clashing. Jeff is the most over-the-top and dramatic, which definitely brings a lot of humour to the piece. Charlotte, in contrast, is much calmer and knows the text extremely well, rapidly changing between the various moods and characters within the book. Jane, meanwhile, was simply dropped off there and asked if she could stay — although there’s an overwhelming feeling of unhappiness in her relationship that becomes more and more clear as the play progresses.

That said, I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I thought I would, and some of the humour didn’t quite land as well as it could have. It was enjoyable and definitely had moments of fun, and the chaos of it worked well, but it didn’t fully draw me into the story. I did, however, enjoy how each of the characters shed some light on how they related to certain situations in the book and helped us get to know them a little better.

The cast, however, all gave dedicated and energetic performances, bringing their individual characters to life and working well together to make this a really immersive experience for the audience.

There’s definitely a lot of potential with this play and, for lovers of the original book, it will certainly appeal. I do think the play needs some tightening to create a more engaging story, as I didn’t quite connect with it as much as I had hoped. There are plenty of fun moments throughout, though, and the energy and enthusiasm from the cast really shines through.

Jane Eyre Convention continues its run at Just The Tonic at the Mash House until 28 August at 12:35pm.