Pride and Prejudice

The decision to collaborate on a new version of this much-loved novel offered ALP a number of welcome possibilities.  The story remains popular with the public and there was a goodly smattering of Austen fans in the audience.  The piece presents specific challenges to the actors:  different styles of posture and speech plus the portrayal of very familiar characters.  The script stayed faithful to Austen and was trimmed to keep the action moving.  The concentration on the spoken words of the characters worked well for the audience and avoided the risk of the collaborators putting forward their own opinions.  The use of various Austen devises such as the exchange of letters was well handled.  Inevitably some scenes were very short but at no point did it irritate.  With a mere evening to tell the tale it was wise to concentrate on the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy with the other characters appearing where they effected that particular story.

The set was cleverly worked with the projected backcloths giving a sense of the grandeur of the period and the columnade providing excellent entrances and, at Pemberley, the frames for the wonderful portraits.  This was an inspired way of dealing with this scene and cementing the characters in the audience’s mind.  A swinging flat provided the opportunity for a reduction in the space when we moved to the Bennet’s “small” house.  It was good to see flats from the previous production being put to good use.  Recycling is such an important part of amateur theatre as it is so less expensive.  Simple furniture allowed easy changes including the charming piano.   All was well thought out, constructed, painted and operated giving the actors plenty of space and the audience a clear idea as to where they were.

The frequent scene changes were efficiently operated by the servants who never betrayed that they were short staffed that evening.  Everything was well choreographed and most effective.  The look from everyone to the chief servant for the nod before the exit was most charming and in keeping with the period of the piece and the teamwork that underpinned the success of this presentation.

The decision to go for a general “Austen” look for the costumes was very wise.  There could have been a lot of time spent on details, but all was appropriately in keeping with the general understanding of the period in which the tale is set.  That some of the materials chosen were not “period” and the military not prepared for parade, did not matter as the overall feel for the period, class and style of the characters was well handled.  Having everything made for the production meant that everything fitted and could be worn appropriately: no fussing with frocks and collars here.  Colours were appropriately chosen and where suitable some subtle matching was done.  Everyone looked “Austen” which was very pleasing to the audience.  There were some occasions where a sad lack of gloves was evident, but as there were other characters gloveless it wasn’t too obvious.  Surely this was the appropriate moment for the appearance of the delicious lacy fingerless gloves.

Attention to the delivery of the dialogue meant that everything was audible, but also had the “right treatment” for the period and class of person.  The Bingleys and Darcys had lovely clipped delivery whereas the Bennets were not so sharp.   The Gardners and Collins fell in between.  Articulation was clear and despite the fast pace nothing was gabbled.

Jane Austen’s devise of the letter to fill in action that we do not see was beautifully handled: the quill in the hand of the writer a gentle hint to the viewer.  Some of the papers did seem rather large.  This could have been an illusion, but they folded up tightly and one could almost see the tightly written scribbling.   The devise of the two actors standing apart and simply speaking was most effective.  The strength of this setting was emphasised when Darcy did not stand still to communicate with Elizabeth.  He appeared to look at her a lot although we all knew she wasn’t really there.  In this particular incidence Darcy’s need to express his lack of composure unfortunately resulted in an amount of un-necessary faffing which influenced Elizabeth to do the same.  This was a shame as the other letter scenes had all worked so well.

Everyone had studied their characters and quickly establishing them maintained them strongly throughout.  There were some excellent contrasts between the Bennet girls with Kitty & Mary making their presence felt despite the limited nature of their roles.  The contrast was beautifully extended to Lucy and Georgiana.   What a lovely comparison could be drawn between the various girls and the irritating Bingley girls.  Lydia was truly ghastly, but lovable.  I wonder what happened to her and Wickham – surely there is a novel there.  Wickham was too nice.  I’d have taken him home!  Surely we should squirm at the idea of living with Wickham or Collins.  In the limited time available there were not so many opportunities for a similar contrast to be highlighted between the mature women, but each stamped their own style on the production.  It was inevitable with so much story to fit into the night that we couldn’t spend a lot of time comparing the matriarchs and their various ways of influencing their men.  There isn’t space here to mention everyone individually, but rest assured that everyone got into character and presented their own role with conviction.Appropriate music was chosen and the piano playing worked very well.  The playing of the spinnet could have been rather flamboyant but it seemed quite natural.   The singing was fairly simply presented without affectation which was most appropriate. 

ALP are to be congratulated on presenting a charming version of this much-loved story.  There were inevitably nods to the well-loved BBC adaptation with which we are all so familiar, but the characters were not slavishly built on that interpretation but developed from the script.  In fact, the clarity of character produced by each actor gave the whole a welcome freshness.   Of course, to tell this tale a large cast was required and often this can lead to some weakness of presentation, but whereas the central roles stood out as they are called to do, there was a wonderful equality of portrayal.  This was a wonderful example of the old adage that there are no small roles: everyone was vital and everyone contributed.  

Nick Lawrence

16th December 2017

 

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