Pride and Prejudice

When Pride and Prejudice was written by Jane Austen 250 years ago it launched a critique of the savage social norms and arrangements which meant women’s security almost entirely depended on their marital status. Bloomshed has taken Austen’s narrative about a family with five daughters and some of her scintillating dialogue as a starting point and cloaked them in a vibrant verbal and physical romp backed up by excellent staging, costumes and sound and lighting design.

The production includes the book’s main themes and adds plenty of nods and winks to current social issues. Housing inaccessibility, pronoun choice, identifying as LGBTQI+, ‘high value individuals”, the ethics of the Church, social differences, acceptance of “others”, and the pressure of parental expectations are just some touched on.

Elizabeth (Elizabeth Brennan) and Darcy (James Jackson) and the plant were the only actors not playing multiple roles and their performances added some emotional depth to an otherwise manic, light-hearted comedy.

Much of the action takes place on a large wedding cake which occupies most of the space on stage. There are pratfalls and one-liners aplenty, well executed dances, energetic chases through the audience, convincing vignettes and moments of lovely connection all delivered by actors who know their craft. The temptation to go too far and move into caricature is mostly resisted. An indicator of the control of the actors is that for a considerable time in silence and stillness, except for small eye movements, they elicited rolling laughter from the audience.

This production is self-aware, energetic, and funny while bringing some serious issues gently to the audience for consideration.

Ruth Richter

Photographer: Sarah Walker