Tag Archives: Jane Austen

Writer: Rebecca Vaughan Director: Guy Masterson Producer: Elton Townend Jones Reviewer: Ron Simpson “Small is beautiful” seems to be the motto of a growing number of companies which represent one of the most welcome trends in theatre today. With minimal sets and props, equally little administrative back-up outside the performers and directors, and tiny casts (sometimes as few as one), ...

Writer/Composer: Rob Winlow Director: Timothy Trimingham Lee Musical Director: Arlene McNaught Reviewer: Ron Simpson Austen – the Musical is an enjoyable, if rather predictable, brief life of Jane Austen, generally close to the mark in biographical facts, refreshingly free of distortion and sensationalism, if with no special insight or originality. It provides a welcome reminder of a much-loved author and ...

Writer: Rob Winlow Director: Timothy Trimingham Lee Reviewer: John Kennedy It is a truth universally acknowledged that many a review of Jane Austen adaptations has the misfortune of being in want of a less contrived introduction. Axiomatic as that may be, tonight’s songs celebrate a singular panache for delivering melodies more memorable for their immediate context and sincerity rather than any lasting recollection. The ...

Writer: Sara Pascoe from the book by Jane Austen Director: Susannah Tresilian Reviewer: Dave Smith Play fast and loose with national treasures and you’re going to upset a few people – just ask Emma Rice. So when it was announced that Sara Pascoe, stand-up comedian and veteran of any number of television comedy shows such as Mock the Week, Frankie Boyle’s ...

Writer: Jane Austen Adaptor: Tim Luscombe Director: Colin Blumenau Reviewer: Steve Turner Translating such a work from the page to the stage is no easy task but it is one that adaptor Tim Luscombe clearly excels in. Following earlier successes with other Austen works, he turns his attention to the story of Emma Woodhouse. As he admits in the programme ...

Writer:  Jane Austen Adaptor: Tim Luscombe Director: Karen Simpson Reviewer: Joan Phillips Austen’s satire of the Gothic romances popular during her lifetime, parody the heroes and heroines of their original author’s imagination. Austen’s writing was produced as a light-hearted version of these stories to entertain her family and friends, but Tim Luscombe’s adaptation gives it a full comic transfusion to ...

Book: Jane Austen Stage Adaptation: Simon Reade Director: Deborah Bruce Reviewer: Barbara Michaels   Dashing young men and their lady loves are a feature of Jane Austen’s novels – Colin Firth’s Mr Darcy from the TV mini-series of Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice, set in the Regency era in which she lived, is still remembered by many.  Simon Reade’s ...

Writer: Jane Austen Adaptor: Simon Reade Director: Deborah Bruce Reviewer: Dan English   Jane Austen’s famous novel comes to life once more in this new production of Pride and Prejudice as the love story continues its UK tour. Matthew Kelly and Felicity Montagu are the Bennets as Deborah Bruce’s production unravels the tribulations of their search for successful suitors to ...