“A regency delight brought to life.”
It is (probably) a truth universally acknowledged that Pride and Prejudice is one of the most loved stories ever written. Taking over from Jane Austen, this homage from Isobel McArthur is already a hot ticket, having a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy and the Evening Standard Award to its name. The story is one you know – five daughters of one family in search of husbands, a highly vexed mother, a couple of handsome and rich bachelors, an elopement, and a happy ending. So far, so rom-com.
However, a treat is awaiting us on the deceptively simple stage, with a sweeping staircase and pale walls, where a cast of just five actors is about to take on a parade of characters. In tonight’s show in Edinburgh, we had the pleasure of seeing Eleanor Kane, Rhianna McGreevy, Naomi Preston Low, Christine Steel and Isobel Donkin. Without exception, they masterfully whirled their way in and out of their roles, with mere moments between them disappearing as one character, and reappearing fully formed as their next, and coming together in a showcase of acting, singing, dancing and physical comedy skills.
To set the scene, we’re first introduced to the servants of the Bennet family, who have a vital role in Regency match-making, with pointed inferences, snack offerings, and mildly devious machinations to achieve their aims. Such is the power of Austen’s characters and testament to the acting on display, the main characters are brought straight to life. Scenes are studded with deliciously apt songs, much to the delight of the crowd – Lizzie serenading Mr Darcy with Carly Simon’s “You’re so Vain” brought much joy, and are also used in the more tender and surprisingly emotional scenes with Charlotte Lucas.
It was especially lovely to hear the actor’s natural speaking voices too – this is not your BBC RP clipped tone adaptation (except for Darcy, naturally). Christine Steel’s Lady Catherine de Bough could have been a venerable Morningside denizen taking umbrage in Waitrose, and the decision to have her lip sync to “Lady in Red” alongside a fawning Mr Collins (Eleanor Kane) was a particular personal favourite. Indeed, there is a pleasingly familiar Scottish humour running throughout, that I hadn’t anticipated beforehand but added a gorgeous warmth. The whip-smart asides and knowing looks neatly mirrored the original satirical tone of Austen, without becoming pantomime.
With a plot that stayed generally faithful with the original, and key quotes generously interspersed for the aficionados, the production is made all the stronger for the addition of some of the conversations that, deep down, you might have wished the characters had had in the novel. Lizzie robustly telling Mr Collins in no uncertain terms to fuck off was rapturously received. Unorthodox, perhaps, but I think Austen would heartily approve.
Such was the whirlwind of activity on stage “I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun..” the two acts whizzed by, to have loose ends tied up, lovers reunited, and then all it took was a moment in the spotlight for one particularly maligned Bennet sister to bring the house down.
A combination of so many elements, above all else, this show is just really good fun, and if the raucous reception at curtain call is anything to go by, it will appeal to even the most reluctant of Austenites out there.