A THEATRE has commissioned three new works to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Brontë’s birth.

West Yorkshire Playhouse, in Leeds, said its Brontë Season would take centre stage this autumn to celebrate the “extraordinary” works of the county’s iconic literary family.

The season will explore the family's relevance for contemporary audiences by inviting artists to approach their work from a 21st century perspective.

There will be a major new adaptation of Charlotte’s novel Villette by Yorkshire writer Linda Marshall-Griffiths.

This will re-imagine Charlotte Brontë’s ground-breaking novel whilst remaining true to its unique insights into loneliness, yearning and the redemptive power of love.

Commissions also include a work-in-progress staging of new musical Wasted – described as “the explosive crash and burn story of four young people with incredible dreams” – and a collaborative digital project Know Your Place.

These will première alongside dance performances, including Northern Ballet’s Wuthering Heights, and panel discussions.

Rebecca Yorke at the Brontë Parsonage Museum said: "We’re thrilled to be working with West Yorkshire Playhouse during this important bicentenary year.

"The Brontës are known world-wide for their novels and to be able to bring these stories to life theatrically, and to be made so relevant for audiences and visitors demonstrates that their enduring appeal resonates as much now as it has done at any point over the last two centuries."

West Yorkshire Playhouse artistic director James Brining said: "The Brontës are synonymous with Yorkshire and their impact and influence on our culture and heritage is phenomenal.

"In this 200th year of Charlotte’s birth, the Playhouse’s Brontë Season re-imagines the work of these women and invites artists and audiences to re-examine how their stories speak to us today."

Robin Hawkes, the executive director of the theatre, said: "The Brontë’s writing is both rooted in and strongly influenced by the environment in which they lived and created their enduring characters and stories, which are known and cherished around the world.

"It’s important to us that we continue to reflect this type of local resonance in the work we commission at West Yorkshire Playhouse."

The Brontë Season will also feature a series of screenings, panel events and a social media takeover, to provoke lively debate and discussion about the Brontës and their continuing relevance for a contemporary audience. More information on the Brontë Season and guest speakers will be announced by West Yorkshire Playhouse nearer to the autumn.