THE work of the Brontes has been interpreted in many ways, from ballets to zombie graphic novels - and now the sisters themselves are re-imagined in a new play set in a hair salon.

In Jane Hair: The Brontes Restyled (see what they did there?) modern- day versions of Emily, Charlotte and Anne are working as hairdressers while pursuing their creative dreams.

Presented by Buglight Theatre, this lively interpretation of the literary siblings aims to introduce new audiences or anyone else who doesn’t know their Wuthering Heights from their Wildfell Hall to the Brontes and their work.

Writer Kat Rose Martin, who is from Bierley, says: “Jane Hair is a chance to get to know the sisters as individuals. Even if you’ve never read their books you can still be inspired by their story.”

In the play, Emily is a slam poet and Anne a political blogger, while oldest sister Charlotte has just sold a script to Netflix...

The action unfolds late at night in the salon as the sisters clash over media interest in their work.

Growing up in Bronte Country, co-writer by Kirsty Smith says she was “surrounded by the sisters’ faces on tea-towels and postcards, but it’s easy to forget how much determination, hard work and energy was required to earn their place in the literary world”.

Producer Keeley Lane, who also plays Charlotte in the play, adds: “We’re really excited to have assembled a majority female creative team on Jane Hair and feel that it is very fitting with the piece. It was important to us that we were able to represent brilliant Yorkshire women with a brilliant team from Yorkshire.”

* Jane Hair: The Brontes Restyled goes on tour of Yorkshire in March. It is at Kala Sangam arts centre in Bradford on Thursday, March 3. On Thursday, March 17 there will be a matinee performance in the Old School Hall in Haworth, where all three Bronte sisters worked. For tickets go to buglight-theatre.com/janehair

* FROM one family to another...Osmond fans are in for a treat this autumn, when a new musical telling their “official story” heads for Bradford.

The Osmonds - A New Musical, running at the Alhambra from November 22-26,is the story, told by Jay Osmond, of the five brothers from Utah who entered the spotlight as children and went on to be the world’s biggest boy band, selling more than 100 million records and gaining a huge army of fans.

From their residency on the Andy Williams Show in the 1960s to the ‘Osmondmania’ of the 1970s, the Osmonds have had a remarkable career, recording chart-topping albums, selling out arenas and making TV shows - until one bad decision cost them everything.

The musical, which features hits such as Crazy Horses, Love Me For A Reason and Puppy Love, reveals “the real family behind the hits” - parents George and Olive Osmond and their nine children, Virl, Tom, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, Marie and Jimmy.

Says Jay: “I’ve wanted to tell my story for a long time and the opportunity to create this‘living autobiography’ seemed the perfect way to do so. I spent my whole life performing live - on stage, on TV specials, in arenas - so the buzz of live theatre felt like the perfect place for me. There were some difficult times in my life, and some big hurdles to overcome, and this musical will tell people things that will surprise them...but despite that trouble, when you look back and think of the fans, the music, the once-in-a-lifetime things we did - it’s joyful.

“I guess I want to do this now to spread a bit of that joy. I’ll know I’ve done a good job telling this story if I stand at the back of the theatre and see people waving their arms in the air, singing along and dancing in the aisles. I just want people to be enjoying themselves. I guess that is in the Osmonds’ DNA.”

The Osmonds have appeared in Bradford several times. Their final UK tour was at St George’s Hall in 2012 and in 2019 Merrill Osmond brought his Christmas show to the city. Call (01274) 432000 or visit bradford-theatres.co.uk

* THERE are more siblings, over at King’s Hall in Ilkley. Sisters Nicola and Rosie Dempsey are the multi award-winning musical comedy and piano/percussion duo Flo and Joan, whose hour-long special is streaming in over 200 countries on Amazon Prime.

The pair have performed around the world and their TV appearances include Live at the Apollo, The Russell Howard Hour and Jonathan Ross’ Comedy Club.

They recently contributed five songs for West End Musical Death Drop and have written and performed songs for TV shows including Horrible Histories on CBBC, Rob Delaney’s Stand Up Central, BBC Radio 4’s The Now Show.

Flo and Joan are at King’s Hall on Thursday, February 24 with new show Sweet Release, filled with songs and comedy poking around topics of the day - such as over-thinking, alien lovers and fringes. Call (01274) 432000 or visit bradford-theatres.co.uk

* THE Modfather himself, Paul Weller, has been announced as the latest big name to play at historic Piece Hall this summer.

The legendary singer-songwriter heads to Halifax on Sunday ,July 3 for a headline show at the open-air courtyard. He joins a stellar line-up of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Primal Scream, Nile Rodgers and CHIC, Paloma Faith, Tom Jones and Tom Grennan for the Live at The Piece Hall 2022 concert series.

Weller’s huge influence on the British music scene began when he was frontman of The Jam, spearheading the Mod revival in the late 1970s and early 80s. He later found more success with The Style Council, before embarking on a solo career.

The last two years have seen an impressive creative output from Weller, releasing three new albums. His 17th solo album, An Orchestrated Songbook, recorded with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, re-imagines a selection of his back catalogue including English Rose, You’re the Best Thing, Wild Wood and You Do Something to Me.

* Visit thepiecehall.co.uk