Nelle Lee might say: Theatregoer, I adapted her.

"And now I'm playing her.

Lee, along with Nick Skubij, has turned Charlotte Bronte's 1847 novel Jane Eyre - narrated by the heroine - into a play for shake & stir theatre co. Jane Eyre, which premiered in Queensland in 2019, opens in Canberra on May 17.

"I read it first in high school and loved it," Lee says of the book.

And Lee's affection for Jane Eyre has endured.

"It was one of the first novels with a heroine who had an opportunity to speak her mind."

Despite being a product of its time, "In many ways it is a feminist book."

Charlotte Bronte published her novel under the pseudonym Currer Bell in 1847. It was a success and went on to become an enduring classic, adapted many times into plays, films, TV series, operas and inspired Jean Rhys's 1966 prequel novel Wide Sargasso Sea.

Lee plays Jane from a child of about nine, an orphan suffering a terrible childhood - first with a cruel aunt, then at a harsh boarding school - to a young woman in her 20s trying to make her way in the world.

Playing Jane throughout, Lee is joined by a three-person ensemble - one male, two female - who play various characters as the story progresses. The role of Jane was a challenge - and not just because Lee herself is 35.

"She starts off a little bit nave," Lee says.

"You have to be able to play the younger innocence as well as the understanding of someone who's a little bit more worldly."

Part of the task, she says, was "not to play the endgame when you start off": Jane Eyre's character and self-awareness change markedly as she grows older, matures and experiences more of life, both good and bad.

"She has a very strong moral compass," Lee says.

While that might not seem like a bad thing, at times Jane's expectations are unrealistic and she is unreasonably judgmental of others, with an "all or nothing" attitude.

"Experience starts to challenge this moral compass."

Jane finds work as a governess at Thornfield Hall, employed by the mysterious Edward Rochester to supervise Adele Varens, a young girl in his charge.

Strange sounds keep occurring at night and it becomes apparent that there's at least one secret in the household.

Jane will eventually discover what's going on, and there's plenty more that happens in her life before her story comes to a happy(ish) ending. In adapting Bronte's classic book, which is written in the first person, Lee says she and Skubij were keen to maintain Jane's inner voice, her thoughts about herself, other people, and events so have used recorded voiceovers to help achieve this.

Adding another dimension to the work is the score, composed and performed live by ARIA-Award winner Sarah McLeod, who's also in the cast.

"It's rock/pop with a bit of balladry," Lee says.

One aspect of the production that was a challenge was the use of fire effects - they must be carefully prepared in each venue.

Lee and Skubij are co-artistic directors, along with Ross Balbuziente of shake & stir, the Queensland theatre company that has adapted and performed some classic works of literature including George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Bronte's sister Emily.

Jane Eyre is directed by Michael Futcher, who also helmed the Stoker and Orwell stories.

The company's other shows include Roald Dahl adaptations and they have an extensive schools program.

Lee and Skubij are working with a Queensland writer on a stage adaptation of his memoir.