JANE Austen’s House at Chawton will play host next month to the Foot in the Door Theatre Company.

The thespians will perform scenes from Jane Austen’s novel Emma in the museum garden on May 2.

Emma was the fourth and final of Jane Austen’s novels published in her lifetime and was written entirely at the house in Chawton which is now a museum celebrating the author’s life and work.

During the day scenes will be performed every half hour between 11am and 4pm. The company will perform highlights from the book such as the infamous Box Hill picnic and the unexpected proposal from Mr Elton. Some scenes will be performed more than once.

Audiences are not expected to sit and watch for the whole day but are invited to dip in and out, to visit the museum between scenes, and to enjoy their own picnics in the gardens.

The scenes will move indoors to the Museum Learning Centre in the event of poor weather.

This event is a part of the museum’s celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the first publication of Emma.

Events have included a number of exhibitions, and learning activities, including the current exhibition, Emma in Print, which features the first edition copy of the novel dedicated and presented to The Prince Regent by the author.

There is no additional charge for the performance of Emma.

For more details, visit jane-austens-house-museum.org.uk/events.