Local talent to shine in Jane Eyre
By Rebecca Poole
Nurturing local talent and giving aspiring actors the opportunity to shine is central to the ethos of a Lincoln theatre company that has more than 200 members.
Jane Eyre is the next production for The Asylum Players at Lincoln’s Blue Room in March.
“The Asylum Players was formed about five years ago with the aim of putting on three or four shows every year of a high quality and helping young or upcoming actors, or established actors in Lincoln, to find a place to improve their skills and bring their art to the stage,” explained Artistic Director Stephen Gillard.
“We want to build new people up. If you don’t give people the opportunity, they won’t ever get a chance to build up their skills and get those main roles.”
The Asylum Players is a semi-professional in-house theatre company based at The Blue Room at The Lawn on Union Road. Following the success of its first production of The Night Watch in 2018, the company has gone on to perform each year since, pausing only for the pandemic.
“I felt that we were beginning to lose theatre in the city with the loss of The Drill Hall which at that time was kind of shutting down in its previous format and has come back as a gig venue rather than a performance venue. The Arts Centre was also going through a big change at that stage, so we had four theatrical spaces and no theatre happening, so I wanted this venue to be able to do that.”
Historically, The Blue Room formed part of Lincoln Lunatic Asylum later known as the Lawn Hospital, which pioneered the treatment of patients without physical restraint.
“It was an incredibly ahead-of-its-time venue actually, because there was a period in time where it was the first in Europe to abolish mechanical restraint, and it also understood the benefit of art as a form of therapy,” said Stephen.
“The Blue Room used to be called the Lawrence Hall and had the stage where the patients were encouraged to put on dances and performances and write plays as part of their healing process. Setting up a theatre company here feels like a really nice tribute to what that was aiming to be back then.”
The Asylum Players continues to look towards the future, whilst honouring the past with the company’s choice of name and by preserving the venue as a theatrical space to encourage fresh talent.
“We’re branching out in trying to commission and create new work, so we’ve established this year The Asylum Developmental Project. We had our first scratch night back in October and it was incredibly successful.
“One of the pieces that was put on was a brand-new adaptation of Jekyll and Hyde which we’ve actually commissioned now as our 2026 autumn piece. It was so well-written and so well-put-together by Megan Shield, who is one of our company members and has been with us for a while now. So, when she said she had written a piece and then put this on, it was just wonderful and we were able to see this great writing happening straight away.”
Laura Turner, a local playwright whose adaptation of Jane Eyre has been chosen as the company’s 2025 spring production, is supporting Megan in finishing and developing her play for the primary show of 2026.
“We are planning more scratch nights and more developmental pieces,” added Stephen.
“The groups that were involved had a complete range of ages, so it was really nice to see that Lincoln is ready to start creating and putting on new work. They just need places to do it.”
The Asylum Players’ auditions are held for each production to give all members an opportunity to land a leading role.
For more information visit www.lawnlincoln.com or email
Upcoming Plays for 2025
Spring
- Thursday – Saturday, March 20 – 22 & March 27 – 29
- Jane Eyre - adapted by Laura Turner. Tickets now available.
May
- Blackadder Dining Evening
Summer
- Two double-bill outdoor shows of Beauty and the Beast and The Tempest
- Performed by The Asylum Players and Jo Leah Theatre Arts
Autumn
- A Streetcar Named Desire
