Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) – Royal & Derngate, Northampton

Writer: Jane Austen

Adaptor and Director: Isobel McArthur

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that…..” – well, maybe this truth isn’t universally acknowledged, but behind every Georgian household there are servants and they know everything. They know who wants to marry whom, who’s love life is failing and who looks likely to inherit a fortune. So who better to tell what is arguably one of the best-known stories of the era than five female servants?

Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) is a deliciously funny and irreverent take on the Jane Austen classic, with the servants acting out the scenes and characters, and this time round there’s popular music. Jane Austen may not have written Young Hearts, Run Free but you can’t help feeling that she would have agreed with the sentiment. The entire piece is performed by a hard-working cast of five, who between them play the multitude of different characters that Austen has included in her novel – and they do a wonderful job too, jumping in and out of character (and costume) at an incredible rate.

You may think that with the number of different roles, there would be some overlap in portrayal, but each one is given a distinct and often very funny take – yet throughout it’s done with a clear affection and respect for the source material. Despite the irreverence, and most un-Austen-like language occasionally, the story and characters do fit pretty closely to the original giving us a new and accessible take on the novel. It’s a production full of highs, with a cast that doesn’t put a step wrong. Naomi Preston Low gives us a forthright and plain-spoken Elizabeth Bennet, and there’s Emma Rose Creaner with a very funny Charles Bingham as well as his sister Miss Bingley, and Charlotte Lucas, who in a twist has a dreamy-eyed secret love interest in Elizabeth. Christine Steel, alongside her portrayal of Jane Bennet, gives us a wonderful Lady Catherine de Burgh in a red dress (and being a show which includes pop music, you can probably imagine where that leads). Susie Barret plays both Lydia and a very funny Mary Bennet, who’s desperate to have her chance to sing and keeps being shut down whenever she tries (until she has her moment in the limelight at the end) – but her high point has to be the most boring Mr Gardiner that you could imagine, a wicked take on the character. Then there’s Rhianna McGreevy, a determined then flustered Mrs Bennet, and Mr Darcy – acerbic to the point of rudeness and seemingly totally self-centred, with some hilarious portrait business. He may not be who You’re So Vain is written about, but as always with the music in this production it seems totally apt. Then there’s Mr Bennet – and you’ll need to see the production for yourself to understand that one.

Isobel McArthur’s production cracks on at a good pace, with so many bits of detail and humour that you probably need to see it two or three times to spot everything. Ana Inés Jabares-Pita has given us a design that’s full of books – books everywhere, which seems entirely appropriate, plus some costumes that both appear authentic yet are cleverly designed to allow for very rapid changes.

The script and plot are very Jane Austen with additions that are brilliantly comic, the music (often played by the cast as they pick up various instruments from time to time) both enhances the action and provides its own layer of humour, and the performances are excellent. Jane Austen fan or not, it’s well worth a visit.

Runs until 5 October 2024 and on tour