Emma Thompson returns to Sense and Sensibility with unexpected sequel in very different format
Brand new audiobook Becoming Meg Dashwood will launch on Audible in October.
Throughout her storied career, Emma Thompson has had all sorts of memorable roles – but few can compare with her turn in Ang Lee's 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.
Not only was Thompson Oscar-nominated for her performance as Elinor Dashwood in the film, but she was also responsible for penning its Academy Award-winning script.
It's understandable, then, that the star would continue to hold a special place in her heart for Austen's novel – and 30 years on, it's just been announced that she is set to return to the text for a brand new project.
Becoming Meg Dashwood is a brand new audio drama that is set to launch exclusively on Audible in October, and will centre on the youngest Dashwood sister, Margaret – played by child star Emilie François in the previous film.
Thompson will serve as an executive producer on the drama – which is written by Rebecca Humphries – and is set to take on the lead role of Margaret, alongside an all-star cast that also includes Adolescence's Erin Doherty as Margaret's younger self, Mickey 17's Naomi Ackie as her lover Nelly, and Silent Witness star Liz Carr as Mrs Dashwood.
There are also roles in the cast for Baby Reindeer's Jessica Gunning, Peep Show's Paterson Joseph, and stage and screen legend Imelda Staunton, while Greg Wise – who starred as key character John Willoughby in the 1995 film – is back in a new role.
The drama is billed as a "riotous, rebellious period drama about female friendship, sexuality and liberation", with Thompson saying she was "thrilled" to bring an "extraordinary drama" to life.
She added: "Their vision for the youngest Dashwood sister takes us from Austen’s world into the more hidden parts of women’s lives, parts that were not written about at the time, at least not openly.
"I think Austen would have been fascinated and delighted with the language and with the story, and gladdened by the desire to take one of her characters and give her a future and a big, unexpected voice."
Meanwhile, Humphries said: "My first thought, when Audible asked for a take on Margaret Dashwood, was: Jane and Cassandra Austen never married. What if Margaret didn’t want to either? The only way to honour Jane Austen was to do what she did: take the love story and push it somewhere new.
"This one’s about liberation, class, queerness, and all the things that on Jane’s 250th birthday we are still fighting to say out loud. Audible have assembled a true dream cast. I cannot wait for the world to hear them."
This is the second major adaptation of Jane Austen to be announced by Audible in recent weeks, following news that a new version of Pride and Prejudice was set to be produced with an all-star cast led by Marisa Abela, Harris Dickinson and Glenn Close.
It was also recently announced that a new film version of Sense and Sensibility was in the works, with Daisy-Edgar Jones and The Sandman star Esmé Creed-Miles taking on the lead roles of Elinor and Marianne, played by Thompson and Kate Winslet in the previous big-screen adaptation.
The cast for the new version also includes Outlander star Caitríona Balfe as Elinor and Marianne's mother Mrs Dashwood, Joan's Frank Dillane as Marianne’s initial love interest John Willoughby, and Killing Eve's Fiona Shaw as Mrs Jennings.
The official synopsis for Becoming Meg Dashwood reads: "Marriage is not for Margaret Dashwood. Where others see duty, Margaret sees entrapment and rage.
"But when an invitation from family friend Mrs Jennings hurls her into the chaotic heart of Covent Garden and Soho, Margaret discovers an intoxicating world beyond afternoon tea and polite society.
"Here she meets three women who live unapologetically: Nelly, an impulsive actress; Hester, a witch who works in the textile factory; and Inge, a sex worker who loves money and knows exactly how to get it.
"Here, Margaret’s rage is celebrated, along with her musical talents, and in their fierce company she is reborn as Meg: artist, and woman of hidden fires.
"All four women dare to imagine a life dictated by pleasure, politics, and possibility. But such a life demands sacrifice. Especially when Meg’s feelings for Nelly - tender, electric, terrifying - begin to deepen. How does one fall in love, when that love has no name?"
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
