Review – Pride and Prejudice

If you don’t know the plot to Pride and Prejudice, I honestly wonder what you are doing with your life. Just in case, I’ll refresh your memory.

In the early 19th Century, the five Bennet sisters are unmarried and with no prospects between them. When Charles Bingley arrives in town and immediately sets his sights on Jane, the eldest, it seems that things are looking up for the Bennet family. But Bingley’s friend Darcy clashes wits with Elizabeth, the second eldest, and it is their rocky road to love that makes this story the classic it is today.

I consider myself somewhat of a connoisseur of Pride and Prejudice adaptions, sequels, re-imaginings and homages. I have read and watched so many that I couldn’t even begin to count them. I mention this only to give myself some authority when I say that this was a really good adaption of the novel. While it does have some minor flaws, I was overall impressed with the young cast and the script. Most of the performers were good in their roles, but the standouts were Mrs Bennet and Caroline Bingley. Mrs Bennet in particular was a much more rounded character than you often see in adaptions. Mary, too, was given a bit more depth. And they canonised her tragic crush on Mr Collins, which I’ve always felt to be true. Sadly, these terrific additions meant that Mr Collins’ slimy performance seemed extremely overplayed. In making many of the other characters sympathetic, he was too obviously a caricature and it didn’t quite fit in the production. He seemed very popular with the audience, though, so perhaps that’s just me. There were some nice lines and scenes added to this version that developed a few of the characters more, and the addition of the auction framing device worked well for introducing the characters and showing how marriage really was like a market at the time. My few remaining quibbles are quite minor. Given the youth of the actors, since it is a youth theatre, I admittedly found it a little difficult to invest in the various love stories. Additionally, some of the blocking was a little strange at times, as it obstructed the view for some of the audience during arguably important moments. It was also very long, though the pacing was good enough that it didn’t lag too much. Overall, it was a very enjoyable production.

Any fans of Austen’s work should enjoy this adaption of her most famous novel. And for those not familiar with the story, it is a good introduction. At least, the girls sitting in front of me said they hadn’t read the book and very much seemed to enjoy it. If you don’t mind the long running time, I would suggest this for fans of Pride and Prejudice and anyone else that may be interested in learning about it.