The lady next to me at Oxford Playhouse snorted with laughter so loudly half way through the first half of Pride & Prejudice (sort of) that I thought she might have injured herself, as her husband guffawed along beside her at the hilarities on stage.
She’d looked uncertain when she arrived, unsure about what a modern take on the beloved Austen classic would entail. Would it be respectful and tell the story? Or would this be a piss take of the trials and tribulations of Elizabeth Bennet, Mr Darcy and their colourful cohorts?
The answer is a bit of both really, but hailing from a place of love and respect for Jane Austen’s work. Because what director Isobel McArthur does so cleverly, is accentuate the absurdities of the characters themselves, heightening their strengths and weaknesses and running with them, not exactly parodies but certainly overblowing them to a comic degree, without faltering from telling the story.
‘you’d be hard pressed to have a better night out at the theatre – an evening of pure, unadulterated bliss, laughter and bonhomie’
Which meant that Austen purists and newcomers alike were drawn into the famous story of love, deception, pomposity, frustration and yes pride and prejudice, albeit with a modern soundtrack, rubber gloves, lots of wonderful swearing, dancing, vodka swilling, loo brush wielding, vomiting and so much laughter that it’s hard to stay on your seat.
The result is a hilarious romp through Georgian England, as relayed by the servants from the multiple households, who hear the gossip, and re-enact the shenanigans shamelessly using any props and costumes to hand.
This premise allows for multiple role changes and farcical comic timing, as outfits are whipped on and off, props magicked from nowhere and Mr Bennet remaining permanently unseen on an armchair smoking a pipe, proving that here it’s all about the women!
‘Multi-talented and multi-roled, the cast sang, danced and ripped through the 16 characters as fast as they did bodices’
But the pure joy and effervescent humour emanating from the cast is what takes this to the next level. Multi-talented and multi-roled, they sang, danced and ripped through the 16 characters as fast as they did bodices, the chaos carefully orchestrated with some brilliant performances.
All five shone, their obvious enjoyment and close friendship evident in every scene. Rhianna McGreevy played Mrs Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy with such clarity, Mrs Bennet even more of a harridan, but with more of an East End bent than parlour room parle, Mr Darcy so aloof he couldn’t finish a sentence or do more than stare.
Naomi Preston Low – Elizabeth Bennet – had more chutzpah and attitude than ever, refusing to kowtow to societal niceties while she stormed around doing whatever she damn well pleased, swigging vodka, singing ‘you’re so vain’ to Mr Darcy, all the while oblivious to her best friend Charlotte’s Lucas unrequited love.
‘what director Isobel McArthur does so cleverly, is accentuate the absurdities of the characters without faltering from telling the story’
But perhaps my favourite was the spiky Eleanor Kane whose Lydia Bennet had me in stitches (‘I can fit my whole fist in my mouth’) as the Bennet’s debacle at the ball was exacerbated to an excruciating degree. But unlike the P&P book and films, her unfortunate and much ridiculed Mary Bennet is instead given a much more sympathetic slant, finally getting her moment in the sun to sing the grand finale.
Characters such as Lady Catherine de Burgh were taken on with gusto by Christine Steel – her grandiose and imperious posturing a joy to behold, while Jane Bennet is tearful to an impressive degree, and the dastardly Mr Wickham given short thrift as he wafts ineffectually about on stage.
Isobel Donkin swung brilliantly between the boarish Charles Bingley, timid Charlotte Lucas, and the hideous Miss Bingley, her many solos soaring through the theatre.
So yes, you’d be hard pressed to have a better night out at the theatre – an evening of pure, unadulterated bliss, laughter and bonhomie. Girl power at its best.
Pride & Prejudice (sort of) is at Oxford Playhouse until Saturday March 15 so start scrabbling for a ticket! https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/pride-prejudice-sort-of
