Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esme Creed-Miles Lead a Symbiotic Jane Austen Adaptation in London
Daisy Edgar-Jones stars as Elinor Dashwood alongside Esme Creed-Miles as Marianne in a fresh adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. Directed by Georgia Oakley and written by screenwriter Diana Reid, the film celebrated its world premiere in London on Tuesday, with a global theatrical rollout scheduled for September 23.
The Bottom Line
- A Modern Shift: Director Georgia Oakley framed the narrative around a symbiotic sisterhood rather than a strict moral lesson between sense and sensibility.
- Star-Studded Cast: The film pairs Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esme Creed-Miles as the Dashwood sisters, alongside breakout Hamnet star Bodhi Rae Breathnach as Margaret.
- The Rollout: Following its London world premiere, the feature heads toward a global cinematic release on September 23.
Rewriting the Austen Dynamic for a New Era
More than three decades after Emma Thompson’s Oscar-winning cinematic take on the classic novel, the latest adaptation arrives with a distinct artistic objective. According to director Georgia Oakley, the film departs from traditional portrayals where one sister’s worldview completely dominates the other. In the original text, society judges Marianne’s emotional volatility, forcing her to align with Elinor’s measured restraint. Oakley’s version recalibrates that central tension.
“In the book … Elinor’s character is a sense character, Marianne is a sensibility, and Marianne kind of gets judged by the society and she has to learn from Elinor,” Oakley noted at the London world premiere. “Whereas in our version it’s so much more symbiotic and it’s about the two sisters learning from each other.”
Oakley stated that the actors brought authentic traits of their own personalities to the project, pointing to Creed-Miles’s singular presence and Edgar-Jones’s steady poise on the call sheet.
Off-Screen Camaraderie and Period Drama Surprises
The familial bond extended well beyond the scripted dialogue. Fifteen-year-old Bodhi Rae Breathnach, who plays the youngest sibling Margaret following a breakout turn in Hamnet, spoke about the welcoming atmosphere on set. As an only child, Breathnach found the off-screen relationship with her older co-stars mirrored the familial ties of the story.
“I’m really grateful that, out of all the people I could have had to be my two sisters, that I had those two, because it really was like I had siblings,” Breathnach shared during the premiere event.
The sentiment resonated across the international cast. Norwegian actor Herbert Nordrum, stepping into a British period drama for the first time as Colonel Brandon, described an unexpectedly smooth transition onto the set. Known for his work in The Worst Person in the World, Nordrum likened the experience to being integrated into an established athletic squad.
“(It) felt like I was dropped in…your national football team and everyone was passing me the ball without it being weird,” Nordrum said.
Fiona Shaw on Austen’s Enduring Human Understanding
Veteran actor Fiona Shaw joined the ensemble as part of a storied career intersecting with Austen’s literary universe. Having previously appeared in the 1995 adaptation of Persuasion, and attached to the upcoming Pride and Prejudice series, Shaw pointed to the author’s timeless grasp of human nature as the primary driver for endless cinematic reinterpretations.
“(Austen) just gets us, you know? She’s both forgiving and unforgiving, and she’s also celebrating life,” Shaw observed. “In the end, that’s what we want literature to do…we’re all full of faults, but we are full of life, and that’s what she does.”
| Detail | Production Fact |
|---|---|
| Director | Georgia Oakley |
| Screenwriter | Diana Reid |
| Lead Cast | Daisy Edgar-Jones, Esme Creed-Miles, Bodhi Rae Breathnach |
| Key Suitors / Supporting Cast | Herbert Nordrum, Fiona Shaw |
| Premiere Date | Tuesday (London World Premiere) |
| Global Release | September 23 |
