Yvonne Arnaud – until August 16th 2025
Reviewed by Heather Chalkley
4****
Writers Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel put their well honed talent to work on this P.D. James book with admirable results. The satirical edge that is woven into the literary works of Jane Austen and P.D. James is well suited to this novel, written as a postscript to Pride and Prejudice. Although a murder mystery, James embodies all the feminist fire that Austen is so well known for.
James Bye is instantly recognisable as Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy, in his manner and tone. We see the starchy upper class upbringing, crumbling under the weight of honesty and integrity. Bye (Darcy) brings a natural gravitas and compassion to his character.
Jamie-Rose Duke (Elizabeth Darcy) has strength in her voice that can only be born of belief in the role she played as the heroine of the piece and unofficial detective of the murder! She has all the passion and drive of an Austen woman searching for the truth.
Sam Woodhams is the swarthy George Wickham, bringing a morose, passion to the part. Woodhams (Wickham) finally delivers his testimony as an accused murderer, releasing the pent up emotion in a striking performance.
It would not be an Austen-esc play without a love interest. You know from the start that Henry Alveston (David Osmond) and Georgiana Darcy ( Celia Cruwys-Finnigan) play this part, injecting a well balanced youthful exuberance. Osmond wrote the piano score and plays it beautifully alongside Cruwys-Finnigan.
Of course there has to be a dower dowager, Lady Catherine De Bourgh played by Sarah Berger in true Maggie Smith style. Berger injects humour into her character that brings a ripple of laughter in the audience.
Mogali Masuku has the task of playing the overwrought characters, Lydia Wickham and Louisa Bidwell, synonymous with period dramas. Masuku maintains the intensity admirably.
Credit has to be given to the creatives who have produced elegant staging of the period that easily transitions into the deep dark wood setting of the murder. All together a great evening’s entertainment.