This adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic plays up the farce of Regency-era romance, at the unfortunate cost of the romance itself.
Pride and Prejudice opens Act 1 of the Old Fitz Theatre‘s 2025 season with a simple goal: to flip Jane Austen’s book on its head and lampoon its portrayal of love. Produced by The Artist Experiment and Dream Plane Productions, it achieves this goal thanks to a strong comedic cast and energetic direction. In doing so, however, it does not tell its original story as compellingly as it could.
This production of Pride and Prejudice is adapted by Kate Hamill. Like the novel, it is about the way in which the five Bennett sisters – Elizabeth, Jane, Lydia, Mary and Catherine – find love and a husband (which are not necessarily the same thing). Though the focus somewhat remains on the romance between intelligent, quick-witted Elizabeth and the blunt, arrogant Fitzwilliam Darcy, the production spends significant time fleshing out the supporting characters in order to create a more substantive world. The show also packs in numerous punchlines, innuendos, and dance numbers not found in Austen’s novel.
The cast take on their reimagined roles well. Abbey Morgan balances Elizabeth’s sensibility and humour nicely, giving a cohesive leading performance. AJ Evans as a gender-swapped Mrs Bennett is hilarious. His over-the-top expression and animated physicality perfectly brings out the absurdity of a desperate mother and quickly makes him an audience favourite. Dylan O’Connor, who plays George Wickham and Dr Collins, revels in the silliness of formal elocution and upper-class British snobbery to great comic effect. Victoria Abbott has an odd double casting as the ugly duckling Mary and charming Mr Bingley, but manages to pull both off successfully in dynamic fashion. The same can be said for Mym Kwa and Lucy Lock, who each play multiple roles throughout the show. Unfortunately Idam Sondhi as Mr Darcy is too reserved, not tasked with much and only able to build a reasonable but not engaging chemistry with Morgan.
Direction from Emma Canalese is very good. She sets up a fast pace which allows the story to progress quickly and also makes substantive use of the Old Fitz space, often keeping her entire cast involved in a scene or seated to the left and right of the stage. Her stagecraft is especially notable; the cast’s movement as a whole is lively and spirited.
However, the production’s additional elements both enhance and detract from the plot. They enhance by telling a more expansive story, allowing the audience to become invested in more minor characters. They also allow for the Regency era and its approach to love – like the absolute importance of marriage, and the obsession with status, wealth, and dowries – to be ridiculed amusingly. But these additions come at the expense of the narrative. The play’s serious moments are dull. Key events from the novel are glossed over. The relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy feels rushed. Everything seems dependent on the pacing of Hamill’s comedy rather than Austen’s book, which should not be the case.
Ultimately, Pride and Prejudice offers a fresh take on one of history’s greatest novels. Its additions do not always pay off, but it is entertaining nonetheless. As a season opener, it leaves one to wonder what else the Old Fitz has in store for 2025.
