‘Jane Eyre’ Musical Sets U.K. Stage Debut With West End Stars Charlie Burn and Ashley Gilmour (EXCLUSIVE)

Charlie Burn and Ashley Gilmour are set to lead the cast of “Jane Eyre,” the musical by John Caird and Paul Gordon, when the show makes its U.K. premiere at Southwark Playhouse Elephant in London.

The play opens Aug. 28 and plays through Oct. 24.

Burn, who recently starred as Cady Heron in “Mean Girls” at the Savoy Theatre and has played Cosette in multiple productions of “Les Misérables,” will take on the role of Jane. Gilmour – currently in the West End run of “The Phantom of the Opera” and previously the lead in the U.K. and international tour and West End production of “Miss Saigon” – will play Rochester.

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“I’m so honored to be joining the cast of the U.K. premiere of ‘Jane Eyre,’ a sweepingly beautiful musical that brings one of literature’s most beloved female icons to life,” Burn said. “The opportunity to work with theatrical royalty like John Caird, Paul Gordon and Megan McGinnis is incredibly special, and I can’t wait to get started.”

“It’s hugely exciting to join the cast of this wonderful musical, marking the first time it has been seen on U.K. stages,” Gilmour added. “Playing alongside the great Charlie Burn is set to be a thrill and I can’t wait to bring this epic story to the intimate setting of Southwark Playhouse, Elephant.”

The production will be co-directed by Caird, the Olivier and Tony Award-winning director who adapted and co-directed the original “Les Misérables” for the West End and Broadway and most recently helmed the stage adaptation of “Spirited Away” at the London Coliseum. He will share directorial duties with Megan McGinnis, the Broadway actress known for “Beauty and the Beast,” “Little Women” and “Beetlejuice.”

The musical – based on Charlotte Brontë’s novel and tracing Jane’s path from orphaned childhood to independence, set against the gothic atmosphere of Thornfield Hall and her relationship with the conflicted Rochester – originally premiered in Toronto in 1996 before transferring to Broadway in 2000, where it received five Tony Award nominations. The Southwark production is being staged in the show’s 30th anniversary year and is produced by Adam Blanshay Productions in partnership with original Canadian producers David and Hannah Mirvish.