30 January – 4 February
One of the great things about cultural icons is that they can be stretched and twisted, poked fun at, lovingly pushed around, giggled at behind their back, told off for not being made yesterday, treated as if they were made yesterday and in any number of other ways given a thorough going over whilst retaining a kind of integrity that only adds to their status. We can giggle and snort at the mores of bygone times, but when it comes down to it, the past is always with us and we make of it what we will.
In the recent remake of West Side Story, the connection to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet hangs by the merest tendon, but nevertheless is still there even though the story is used for more urgent contemporary issues. However in Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) that great icon of English literature gets the Comic Strip treatment, which (excusing the pun) could be titled ‘Five Go Mad In Austen (with a couple of mates)’. Here the original work is the object of the fun and by one of those happy creative nudges is seen from a new perspective. The happy nudge is to have the story played out by the ‘downstairs’ folk, the unsung heroes and heroines who, according to this version, keep the whole enterprise afloat and for two hours or so the chambermaids let rip.
It’s something of an achievement in itself to have all the main characters and events crammed into a breathless two hours. Because it is lovingly done it never quite tips into burlesque, remaining good-natured parody. Characters are pushed to their comic limits. Given the premise behind the show it is no surprise that Elizabeth is a ballsy valleys girl and Mrs Bennet a potty-mouthed East End matriarch. But this isn’t a show of stand out performances for the simple reason that every last booted one of them is stonkingly on the money. From a Darcy who can’t stand people, to a Collins who could bore someone with nothing to live for and a Lady Catherine de Bourgh supercilious to a degree that would make the proud look humble. To top it all, amidst all the silliness and pop songs, it even manages to be moving.
With a sparkling script, some apposite songs and clear edged direction the gallimaufry of chronology and gender is a joy from start to finish.
★★★★★ Graham Wyles, 31st January, 2023
Photo credit: Matt Crockett
