Pride and Prejudice

Synopsis

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife... The ultimate romantic comedy, Jane Austen’s story of the five Bennet sisters and their relentless pursuit of suitable husbands is one of the best-loved novels ever written, constantly topping the polls of favourite books. When feisty Elizabeth Bennet first meets handsome bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited. When she later discovers that he has scuppered the relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, the family’s lives are turned upside down as Jane Austen shows the folly of judging by first impressions and pokes gentle fun at the affectations and etiquette of provincial middle-class life.

Our Review:

23 February 2010

Pride and Prejudice is probably one of the best known English novels, making any kind of adaptation a challenge. Not only is the audience bound to know the novel back-to-front, but chances are they also know and love the now iconic 1995 BBC version. It seems to me that the BBC dramatised the novel so effectively and with such strong characterisation that it is hard for any more recent adaptation not to seem like an ‘acting out’ of that version.

This adaptation for theatre, by Simon Reade, feels like a cut-down version of the BBC script; this of course means that it is close to the novel, but also that it lacks originality. I felt that the humorous lines suffered from over-anticipation; the audience were laughing before the punch-line. The script tells the story effectively enough, but will not encourage reinterpretation of the novel, nor will it remind you of bits you’d forgotten. It is a shame that Wickham’s role has been reduced so drastically; of course the story has to ...

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