Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House, July 18,
6.5/10
Who knew? Jane Austen seems to have been exhumed, forcibly led to the altea, ordered to place her hand on a dogeared copy of Pride and Prejudice, and married off to a cross between a Carry On movie and some modern-day piece of music hall. Had she been given a say, I’m sure she’d have demurred – more politely than Lizzie did to Mr Darcy’s initial proposal, but firmly, nonetheless.
Glasgow playwright Isobel McArthur has taken P&P, gutted the original wit, and turned the dialogue into a mishmash of potty jokes, ribaldry and farce, with sight gags galore, and more scope for hamming than Christmas.
It’s also quite funny.
But it’d be funnier still had McArthur not saddled herself with telling the entire story, as the genuine laugh-lines don’t come thick and fast enough to sustain two-and-a-half hours. She needed to be as ruthless with editing the story as she was with editing the original wit.
Though it is quite funny.
In fact, somehow it won a 2022 Olivier Award for Best Comedy, and that production’s director, Simon Harvey, has whipped a local cast into shape.
McArthur’s cute conceit is having no male actors. A cast of just five plays virtually everyone in the novel, plus gossiping servants. Quickfire (off-stage) costume changes are part of the fun, as is a curious playlist of songs the that cast sings on McArthur’s whim. Darcy, for instance sings I Think I Love You to Lizzy, and elsewhere tunes as diverse as Chapel of Love and Smooth Operator are shoehorned in, whether accompanied by the cast’s own instruments or backing tracks. Eliminating the songs would certainly have shortened the show, but then it wouldn’t have been so silly.
And it is silly – notably when the women wear their white dresses under the jackets that signify Messrs Darcy, Bingley, Collins or Wickham. (In a delightful touch, the unseen Mr Bennett is in a rearward facing leather armchair, with only an open newspaper defining his existence.)
The cast is amply strong for a piece that hardly taxes acting skills, led by the rich voice and presence of Amy Lehpamer in a clutch of roles including Bingley, his awful sister and Charlotte (who’s in love with Lizzy, and becomes hilariously robotic, once married to Collins). Teo Vergara shines more brightly as Lizzie as the evening wears on, and Zoe Ioannou excels as Darcy and the frightful Mrs Bennett. Kaori Maeda-Judge is suitably sweet as Jane, grotesque as Lady Catherine and gormless as Wickham. Ruby Shannon battles a little to be Mr Collins, meanwhile playing both Lydia and Mary, with a running gag being everyone’s silencing Mary when she’s about sing.
Knowing P&P in advance probably helps – or maybe not, as you want the show to be cleverer and wittier than it is. For more laughs, see The Addams Family. But it is quite funny.
Until August 30.
https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/theatre/pride-prejudice-sort-of