Pride and Prejudice

This production of Pride and Prejudice has been adapted for the stage by Simon Reade based on the novel by Jane Austen. Set in the early 19th. century Mr. Bennett, owner of Longbourn estate, has five daughters, but his property is entailed and can only be passed to a male heir who is in fact a cousin, Mr. Collins. His wife also lacks an inheritance, so his family faces becoming poor upon his death. Mrs. Bennett’s greatest desire is that at least one of her daughters will marry well to support the others. Life is uneventful until the arrival of a wealthy bachelor, Mr. Bingley, who takes up residence in a nearby mansion. This is seen as an ideal opportunity to find suitable suitors for the Bennett sisters.

The small stage was surrounded and draped with white ‘tulle’ fabric interspersed with floral wreaths and small bouquets with four large elaborate flower heads strategically placed around it. There was no scenery as such, and various locations were intimated by the differing arrangement of two long vintage upholstered benches with padded seats. There was a small table with an ink stand and quill pen on it and a chair. The former Methodist Church has an adjoining Church Hall, and this allowed the characters to use, to great effect, the central aisle of the auditorium as an entrance and/or exit to and from the various ‘locations’.

The play opened with the cast introducing themselves, some coming directly on to the stage whilst others came down the central aisle and on to it. Susan Devaney excelled as Mrs. Bennett she totally captured the idiosyncrasies of the character perfectly. She was so enthusiastic, so effusive, so over-bearingly over-the top and quite dramatically bereft following the news that Lydia had eloped. It was a truly splendid portrayal. Just the opposite in nature to his wife is that of Mr. Bennett and Martin John Devaney so effectively brought out his traits of sarcasm, patience and understanding with such a matter-of-fact air with at times, a cheeky hint of comedy. Jane, the eldest daughter, was well played by Jodi-Lee Thomas. She was quite dignified, albeit somewhat quiet and shy and so heartbroken over the seemingly unrequited love for Mr. Bingley. Zoe Hoyle was superb as Elizabeth she so brilliantly and so believably portrayed the clever, independent, aloofness and the mix of pride and prejudice that was the very essence of the character. Her angry outpourings concerning Darcy’s declaration of love, his involvement with the break-up of Jane and Mr. Bingley and concerns issued by Mr. Wickham were just sublime and the following ‘dance’ moves with him were so movingly displayed. The lovely relationship she had with both Jane and her father was so apparent. Rose Robinson excelled as Lydia the youngest of the daughters. She was so excitable, so feisty and animated especially when talking about the arrival of soldiers and her elopement with Mr. Wickham, which brought shame on the family, was totally forgiven when she returned and so exuberantly declared that she was married and that it was all down to the benevolence of Mr. Darcy. The two remaining sisters were the very opposite in character. Kitty, unsophisticated and quite immature was delightfully and excitedly played by Grace Day whilst Mary, who is quite sullen, sulky and often left out, was ideally portrayed by Samantha Bridie Devaney. Phil McGough was top-notch as Mr. Darcy. He commanded the stage and delivered his arrogance and stern disinterested mannerisms with great charismatic effect and with the ‘reading’ of his letter to Elizabeth and his declaration of love for her, he most expressively portrayed the mellowing of the character. As his aunt, Lady Catherine De Bourgh, Liz Mckenzie was every inch the formidable, haughty, determined and meddlesome aunt of Mr. Darcy but she definitely got her comeuppance when she confronts Elizabeth with the news that she has heard the couple are engaged demanding that she refuses him, but is told, in no uncertain terms by Elizabeth, that she is not engaged and orders her to leave. James Brown, as Mr. Bingley, brought out the gentleness, endearing qualities of the character with such natural ease contrasting with the snobbishness, the condescending and critical rudeness of his sister Miss Caroline Bingley who was so dramatically and elegantly played by George Harris. What a brilliant portrayal came from Ian Lawrence as Mr. Collins. He epitomised the pompous, creepy, cloying, manipulative and slimy nature of the character with such conviction, it was a truly most impressive performance. Mr Wickham was well played by Alex Pearson and excellent support came from Suzanne Alford as Mrs. Grainger, from Rachel Callen as Charlotte Lucas, from Bob Hingston as Sir William Lucas, from Alicia Bloundele as Annabel De Bourgh, from Sonja Longdon as Mrs. Reynolds, from Bibi Ottley as Georgiana Darcy and from Andrew Pearson as the Footman and of course from Princess, a most adorable little dog. Included in the play were some lovely period dance routines which were very well executed by cast members. The authentic costumes were absolutely stunning and along with good lighting, simple but appropriate props this quite complicated production, particularly in terms of the various settings, was so innovatively and imaginatively envisaged and carried out that it didn’t impinge at all on the overall enjoyment and discernment of it. 

Many congratulations to Director Alicia Bloundele, to the Backstage Crew and to everyone else involved and most certainly to the outstanding cast for the delivery of a most entertaining, wonderful and charming production. Many thanks also, for the very warm reception that I received from the Front of House staff.

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