Literature's most iconic heroine will be given a dance make-over as Northern Ballet bring their world premiere tour of Jane Eyre to Richmond Theatre .

Orphaned at a young age and cruelly treated by her aunt, Jane Eyre is a plain but intelligent child who grows up knowing little kindness. Sent away to a charitable school, Jane later accepts a job at a gentleman's manor whose master is the dark and impassioned Mr Rochester.

In spite of their social differences, an unlikely bond grows between the pair but as their romance develops, it becomes clear that Mr Rochester has a hidden past that threatens to ruin them both.

Based on the novel by Charlotte Brontë and performed during the 200th anniversary of her birth, the dark love story will be at Richmond Theatre from Tuesday May 31 to Wednesday June 1 .

Cathy Marston, the show's choreographer, said: "Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre was a novel far ahead of its time and when I think of Jane I feel inspired by images of her passionate but 'impossible' relationship with Mr Rochester, the fire and emotional destruction symbolised by Bertha Mason - the infamous 'woman in the attic', the contrasting icy moorland through which she seems to run from one chapter of her life to another, and of course her final reunion with Rochester.

"But these images only touch the surface of a character and a book that continue to provoke and move - generation after generation, re-read after re-read."

Hannah Bateman as Jane and Javier Torres as Mr Rochester

Hannah Bateman, who will be playing Jane, said: "So often in ballets you, as a female, play the 'damsel in distress', and then a man comes along and saves you, but there's a real female strength in this role.

"All of her choices are made by herself, she's not influenced by the people around her, she's very headstrong from the beginning... She's a very strong character.

"It's interesting how powerful ballet can be, when you think about the fact that it's based on a novel, it's chock-a-block with words, it's a really long novel, how interesting it is to take those words away and literally just tell the story through movement and body language, and the relationships that physically develop on stage between the characters.

"It feels very powerful when you're performing it and I hope that will come across to the audience."

Tickets cost from £12.40. You can buy your ticket online here .

Richmond theatre, Little Green, Richmond , TW9 1QJ - 0844 871 7651