A review from 5D Music & Theatre writer Maria Robertson.
Official photos by Mihaela Bodlovic https://www.mihaelabodlovic.co.uk/
Everybody that has ever sat in an English class will be aware of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice and through the years there have been many versions on stage and screen. This version by Isobel McArthur is a new twist on that old classic. The idea was born in Glasgow, not best known for its “English” after Isobel read a cheap copy picked up in a secondhand book shop.
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Twice before the show started I heard people saying they had seen it last year, the lady behind me was super excited to see it again and even wondering if she could see it again later this week – before it even started. I was intrigued, how could a classic romance be that addictive?
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Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) is an absolute hoot of a modern day “rom-com”. Played by a cast of just seven actresses it is acted out with a very different twist, being from the view of the staff of the renowned households involved in the story. As they explain at the beginning most Austin stories include the upstairs downstairs classes of the good old days but do not tend to focus on the staff that keep the households running.
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This works well for changing to different characters as they just pull dresses for the ladies, or jackets for the gentlemen, over their servant gowns and boots. Emma Rose Creaner for example is a servant and then plays the Bingley brother AND sister (sometimes with hilarious costume switches inbetween as obviously they cannot appear on stage together) and also one of the Bennet sisters’ best friends who marries Mr Collins. This may sound confusing but it works, each character having very different outfits so they are easily recognisable. Although each actress is switching between several different characters it is always obvious who they are at any given moment. Rhianna McGreevy has some fantastic characters to play being both Mrs Bennett, desperate to marry off any of her daughters so their inheritance is safe when Mr Bennett passes away, and the infamous Mr Darcy.
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There is an air or pantomime, or satire, to the entire performance and Mr Bennet is a prime example of this as he is “played” by an arm chair facing the other way with a newspaper held up as if he was reading it. At one point his pipe is lit and a plume of smoke leaves the chair. We are half way through the play before the war is mentioned which is a key setting to the original story, and even this is done in a funny way.
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Far from being a stuffy classic novel you remember being forced to study at school the (*sort of) version is a hilarious version that keeps you guessing at what they will get up to next and laughing out loud throughout. Now, when can I see it again?!
Further information: https://prideandprejudicesortof.com/
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Maria Robertson is the Chief Music & Theatre Writer for the 5D Pop Culture Website and provides reviews & coverage of local Aberdeen music & theatre gigs. She’s an experienced writer for numerous sources and is a self-confessed live gig addict ever since seeing The Counting Crows at the Barrowlands in 1994.
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