Pride & Prejudice.

Pride & Prejudice.
Adapted by Kirsty Budding. Based on the Jane Austen novel. Budding Theatre, directed by Kirsty Budding. Belconnen Community Theatre, 18–22 June 2019.

Fans of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice are likely to find Kirsty Budding’s stage adaptation gratifyingly faithful to the novel.  With one or two slips into more modern parlance, it’s a mature adaptation that highlights the novel’s subtle humour without seeking to outshine Austen’s own words.

 

Budding Theatre’s production takes a creative approach to staging, making interesting use of a side-stage area and off-stage conversation to maintain both pace and comedic effect.  Some scene changes could have occurred more discreetly by additional use of the side stage, but by and large scene changes were unobtrusive.  The set and props were sparse, but offsetting this were the detail in costuming and the believable choreography of several dances.

 

If the adaptation itself provided an unexpected treat, the acting underscored the company’s maturation.  That bane of amateur theatrics, overacting, was notable here in its rarity.  The acting was not uniformly perfect: a couple of characters displayed greater engagement or enthusiasm than strictly warranted; two or three spoke more rapidly than would be natural in unrehearsed speech; and a greater sense of interaction between characters who were supposed to be engaged in intense conversation would have added to their believability.  That said, the acting was a pleasure to behold.  It held moments of genuine emotion, and John Lombard was particularly engaging as the awful Mr Collins.  If you like your Austen well done, Budding Theatre’s production is one you’ll enjoy.

 

John P. Harvey

Photographer: John P. Harvey.

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