Nottingham Theatre Royal – until Saturday 26 October 2024
Reviewed by Louise Ford
5*****
You have bewitched me, body and soul.
There have been many adaptations, on both the large and small screen, over the years of Jane Austin’s works and at least five of Pride and Prejudice on television alone, however there is always room for a new take on the “girl meets boy” story. And this is exactly what this production does. It takes the original story and looks at it from a different angle and adds the sparkle of karaoke to move the plot along.
The adaptation by Isobel McArthur for the Tron Theatre, in Glasgow, arrived in 2017. It was an instant hit moving to the Fringe, the West End and a Nationwide tour. And the rest as they say is history.
The opening scene is of the largely ignored female servants at Longbourn House, who not only keep the household running like clockwork, doing all of the drudgery tasks, but also playing an important role in moving along a plot or romance. They may deliver a letter too quickly or too slowly which all helps or hinders the path of true love. The servants are clad in their chemises and wearing DMs, they mean business. The entire cast is just five women who take on all of the key roles and characters. The changes of characters are achieved in double quick time and can simply be a jacket or a dress or can be more complicated like Lady Catherine de Bourgh. These are all spot on, some are underplayed and others are played for comic effect.
Talking of comic touches the portrayal of Mr Bennet is inspired. This joke never tires and the exchanges between Mrs Bennet and her husband are very funny. The other great comic touch is the introduction and portrayal of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Her entrance and costume is to … well can you guess? It would be rude not to exploit this connection! Oh and the iconic “wet shirt” scene (from the Colin Firth adaptation) is delivered in a round about sort of way.
The set as with the cast and their costumes is paired back. There is a sweeping staircase which dominates the story. In addition there are a few carefully chosen props including a horse, a chaise lounge and a Chinese vase!
Back to the cast, on Monday night’s production there were five outstanding performers on stage; Susie Barrett, Emma Rose Creaner, Rhianna McGreevy, Naomi Preston Low and Christine Steel. They were all excellent. They were energetic, talented and funny. In turn they took centre stage, sang some classic karaoke favourites and delivered some iconic Austin lines. Some of the songs are accompanied by on stage music, the guitar, recorder and piano. All of the instruments are played by the cast, how talented.
As the closing banner says, if you enjoyed the show tell someone! So do yourselves a favour and treat yourself to a mid week theatre outing of fun, joy and silliness!