Pride and Prejudice Review Review

August 20, 2024

Pride and Prejudice Review

19th August – 7th September 2024

Pride & Prejudice, by Jane Austen, is a Guildford Shakespeare Company production
Adapted by Abigail Pickard Price with Sarah Gobran & Matt Pinches.
Directed by Abigail Pickard Price

‘Perhaps’, muses Abigail Pickard Price on her quest to bring a brand new production of Pride & Prejudice to the London stage, ‘some might have thought us mad trying to bring this epic tale to life with only three actors.’

‘I haven’t quite decided if we are or aren’t yet, but it is a rather exciting challenge.’

Crazy or not, she has more than risen to the challenge, thanks to the exceptional skills of those three actors: Luke Barton (think a taller Colin Firth’s Mr Darcy without the wet shirt); Sarah Gobran (Mrs Bennet on a manic maternal mission to marry off her five daughters); April Hughes (English rose daughter Lizzie with killer thorns).

Pickard Price admits it’s a ‘madcapped adaptation’ in which this talented trio take on 17 characters over two hilarious acts. They depend on the ingenious juggling of hats, coats, cloaks, gowns and tiaras with slick scene changes at a dizzying speed. Accents morph from posh to Northern, from master to servant, emotions are keenly observed, characters veer from the surly, haughty Mr Darcy to the oily, sycophantic pastor Mr Collins to the formidable Lady Catherine de Burgh _ all played by the versatile Barton.

“Lashings of humour are dished up in the intimate basement space of the Jermyn Street Theatre”

Pride & Prejudice is a national treasure, fondly regarded as one of Jane Austen’s popular books, with 20 million copies sold and the inspiration for TV series and movies. It stands the test of time and her text is honoured in this production. Most of her words of beautiful dialogue are what you hear on stage, the sharp wit is as cutting as ever it was when written in 1796, and published in 1813. Even the social issues resonate centuries later: love, marriage, passion, wealth, status, ambition, keeping up appearances, gossip, family dynamics.

The family under Austen’s scrutiny are the Bennets of Hertfordshire, the head of which is the long-suffering and amiable Mr Bennet (Luke Barton yet again), his ambitious wife Mrs Bennet, and their daughters Jane, Lizzie, Lydia (Barton too), Kitty and Mary.

The Bennet family are a delight, ripe pickings for humour, at times deserving derision, sympathy or admiration. The play fizzes with wit thanks to Austen at her talented best, with the actors and creative team breathing fresh life into her timeless romance, with clever use of dance to underscore emotions.

It is Mrs Bennet’s opening line that sets the tone of this charming comedy of manners. ‘It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife,’ she says.

The outspoken and headstrong Lizzie will not be that wife in any union without love and respect. She seems way ahead of her time, speaking for future generations of women unwilling to settle for an arranged marriage of convenience.

This period drama keeps on giving. Lashings of humour are dished up in the intimate basement space of the Jermyn Street Theatre with its 70+ plush velvet seats. The second night audience response should reassure Pickford Price that she was not mad to embark on Pride & Prejudice with a cast of just three.