Chris Eldon Lee reviews ‘Pride and Prejudice’, which is at Birmingham Rep until Saturday 12th November.
There is usually a point in any stage adaptation of a nineteenth century novel when I crave for a car chase and a couple of mobile phone calls. Life must have been so extraordinary dull in polite circles back then. Days might be spent discussing the nuances of courtship or whether or not to hold a Ball. Jane Austin’s mission was to shine a tongue-in-cheek light on her Society and let it make a mockery of itself. And this Regent’s Park production gives her a huge helping hand; creating laughter that is plentiful … but still respectful. Writer Simon Reade and director Deborah Bruce push matters to the edge of the ridiculous…without quite teetering into the abyss.
The figures of snobbish fun are highly entertaining. Steven Meo (on parole from Theatre Clwyd) is sleazily obsequious and teeth-grinding obnoxious as the jumped up Reverend Collins who literally prostrates himself in his quest for status and matrimony.
Felicity Montagu wears the character of the desperate Mrs. Bennet on her crinoline sleeve; pontificating about odious men she has never met and shamelessly summersaulting in her affection or contempt for her daughters’ urgent suitors. And Matthew Kelly plays her conniving-if-lily-livered husband with a string of deadpan observations at others’ expense. He turns Mr Bennet into a peach of a part. Society revolves around evenings of dance. How he wished the least suitable suitor had sprained his ankle.
Kirsty Rider, making her stage debut, is highly impressive as the snooty, calculating Caroline; and there’s a lovely cameo from Dona Croll as the forceful Catherine De Bough (two thirds Lady Bracknell and one third wicked witch) whose expectation to rule the roost is dashed by the independent young mind of Elizabeth Bennet.
The pairing of Benjamin Dilloway and Tafline Steen as the reluctant lovers is exquisite. Their conversational hopelessness is a simmering hoot. Darcy is so grumpily and aloof and Elizabeth so brusque and direct, surely they will never soften. When they do, their height difference makes the tippie-toe kiss most amusing…and the gasp from the teenage audience suggested they’d not got that far in the novel.
Elizabeth is played very much as a modern miss with language and mannerisms to match, which emphasises her apartness from her compliant contemporaries. Like her creator, she is more than ready to stand up for herself … to speak her mind and overcome the consequences. Until she finds love, of course.
Max Jones’ setting is clever and effective. A huge gilt and green staircase and circular balcony revolves around the stage; wheeling us from one country house to another and providing plenty of opportunity for the art of overhearing that is so vital to the chattering classes. Its archways become picture frames and there’s a magical moment when the portrait of D’Arcy steps out into the action.
It’s a swirling show that does full scholarly justice to the genre whilst supplying plenty of knowing winks to those who simply wish to share Jane Austen’s joke. Great fun.
Visit www.birmingham-rep.co.uk for information about Birmingham Rep