Last Updated on February 11, 2026
Brontë comedy, ‘Underdog’, provides a new take on the literary sisters:
The Brontë sisters are shrouded in more mystery than most literary geniuses. Having all published under pseudonyms, they were kept at a distance from the publishing powerhouse of London by their gender, and their reclusive lives in Yorkshire. While Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Emily’s Wuthering Heights have become staples of the literary canon, Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall has passed into relative obscurity. ‘Underdog: The Other Other Brontë‘, written by Sarah Gordon, examines the Brontë family, their shared passion, mutual pain, complex rivalry and finally, their varying success.
From the start of this production, Charlotte presents herself as the obvious star. Emerging from the crowd in a bright red dress, she demands the audience’s attention from the outset. Game of Thrones’s Gemma Whelan is a fine choice for the role, suitably rebellious and commandingly ferocious, she steers the attention away from the other two sisters. With her introduction, we become aware of the tragedy of the story, but also the whimsical sisterly comedy that underpins it.
Emily, a fierce yet caring soul, is dressed in blue, whilst the ‘mousy’ Anne is dressed in purple. Emily, depicted with integrity by Adele James, berates Charlotte’s ill treatment of Anne, and draws attention to her elder sister’s competitive nature. Rhiannon Clements, who plays Anne, is able to simultaneously show and shun the mousy prefix awarded by her sisters. Taking the family’s dire financial difficulties into her own hands, Anne becomes a governess, one of the few respectable positions available to women of her class. Her experiences as a governess inform the story of her first novel, Agnes Grey.
Despite having published a set of poems under the names Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell, the sisters still have problems publishing their first novels. When one publisher eventually agrees to publish Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey, but not Charlotte’s first novel, Charlotte’s attitude towards Anne turns from dismissive to jealous. In a furore, she writes Jane Eyre, which bears a remarkable similarity to Anne’s Agnes Grey.
Unlike her sisters, Charlotte continues to wear the man’s coat associated with her pseudonym. Her desire to become accepted by the literary establishment is shown to be her downfall, as the chorus, decked in formal robes and hats topped with smoking pipes, still find her book wanting. In the end, Charlotte’s need to project her reputation causes her to entirely reject Anne’s second novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Now widely considered one of the first feminist novels, Anne’s book was considered scandalous, and Charlotte prevented it being republished after her sister’s death.
While the subject matter is unceasingly bleak, the production takes a light-hearted approach to the tragedy. However, what it delivers in spunk it loses in wit. None of the haughty clapbacks deliver the devastating repartee you would expect from three literary geniuses. This is not solely due to the writing. A lack of punctuality on the technical side makes some of the comedy motionless, stifling any extended laughs. Most of the physical theatre elements, though enjoyable, fall short of being riotous.
‘Underdog’ may further obscure and mythologise the Brontë story, but its skewering of contemporary feminism from a historical perspective is what makes it worth a watch. Competition feminism is out, highlighting women’s love and passion for one another is in. In the end, Anne is able to forgive Charlotte’s unceasing hunger for recognition, and her ugly competitive nature. Only in a modern context is Charlotte able to see her actions as a consequence of patriarchy.
As a whole, ‘Underdog’ could probably do with some clever refinement. Making the jokes a shade wittier, and the physical theatre a tad tighter, would give it the polish it deserves. While the production could certainly do with improvements, it would be remiss not to mention that Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall has, very suddenly, risen to the top of my reading list.
Underdog: The Other Other Brontë – The National Theatre
The Dorfman
National Theatre
London,
SE1 9PX
Run Time: Approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, including a 20-minute interval.
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