Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) by Isobel McArthur, after Jane Austen
Eden Court Theatre - 16/03/23
A Tron Theatre Company, the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, and Blood of the Young production, with co-producers Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Leeds Playhouse, Northern Stage and Oxford Playhouse.
You always know what to expect from David Pugh. The man who gave us ‘The Play What I Wrote’ and ‘Ducktastic’, as well as Kneehigh’s production of Noel Coward’s ‘Brief Encounter’ and Yasmina Riza’s ‘God of Carnage’. The winner of two Tony awards and recently, with this production, an Olivier for Best Comedy. This raucous take on Jane Austen’s beloved novel of 1813, is witty, clever, and outrageous. Appealing to older ladies, who devoured the novel in their youth, middle aged ladies who remember Colin Firth emerging dripping from his swim in a sexy white shirt, from the popular TV adaptation, and young girls who love ‘rom coms’. He has an eye for a hit comedy with a twist. On tour now directly from the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus, it hits Inverness, its first stopping point, like a bombshell. Played by a cast of seven versatile female actors, taking on both male and female roles, its running time of two and half hours, whizzes through the ins and outs of Jane Austen’s novel adeptly, recounting the dilemma of a mother trying to marry off her daughters to a wealthy suitor to avoid penury. (I presume readers are familiar with the plot—if not, why not?) This adaptation goes beyond the traditional prim BBC and Hollywood versions. It does include the famous opening line (“It is a truth universally acknowledged…...”) but from then the script follows a more modern interpretation. The sisters are feisty and sometimes foul mouthed, sometimes romantic, sometimes bitches, while mother epitomises dramatic ‘EastEnders’. They break into pop songs, drink wine out of bottles and generally lark about whilst getting on with the story. When they play the male roles, they are universally dull in comparison. It would be wrong to single out one performance as the cast of Lucy Gray, Dannie Harris, Leah Jamieson, Emma Stonelake, Megan Louise Wilson, Ruth Brotherton and Laura Soper work as an ensemble. Leah Jamieson gets most of the laughs. They all handle the revolving doors, their quick changes, and deft manipulation of props and furniture really well. This aspect is tight as a nut. They tackle the choreography and singing well, although they are not given a lot to work with. I particularly liked the opening salvo, moving amongst the audience as under maids, dusting and cleaning the auditorium, letting us know that servants see it all. The set is adequate and works well with a staircase, gantry, and revolving door. Costuming is crumpled basic cream slips which take on different quick-change jackets and dresses. If there is one detraction from this otherwise slick production, it is the quality of the sound. The Criterion is a small intimate theatre, and I am sure the use of stage floor (boundary) microphones worked there. However, Eden Court has a larger stage and at times they could not always pick up the dialogue. The actors had good diction, but this did not help them. Also, the backing tracks for the songs sounded thin. However, the final bows received copious applause. The cast truly deserved it. The matinee audience in Inverness loved it.
On tour throughout the UK. Cardiff, Nottingham, Eastbourne, Chester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Blackpool, Truro, Malvern, Exeter, Norwich. See the website for dates.
