8 – 19 October
Whether you have read all or none of Jane Austen’s novels, or have seen any of the more than 20 adaptations for large and small screens, the Alma Theatre’s own Schoolhouse Productions has the perfect entrée to the Austen canon.
Actors Emma Giles and Jaleelah Galbraith are about to embark on a hilarious but appreciative round up of the works, but there’s a problem. ‘Harry’, who was cast to represent all the men in Jane’s books, has suddenly left the company for a part in London. Newbie Nina Bright has answered the call but hasn’t read a word of Austen. A clever set up then for Giles and Galbraith to have to explain the content and essence of Austen’s output to their new colleague, and thus to the Janeites, or uninitiated Janeites, in the audience. No one is left behind as Bright begins to embrace Austen’s qualities while relishing a cross-dressing performance, “I’m dashing in this costume!”
The primary focus remains on Austen’s ability to get inside the mindset of middle class England during the early nineteenth century, in particular the reliance of women on the state of marriage for their financial salvation. However, The Complete Works is also very much about the contemporary voices and opinions of the three female actors who enjoy themselves as they character hop by means of a basket full of hats that instantly transform the wearers into Austen’s protagonists. The action is fast, funny and sharp. Writers Jessica Bedford, Kathryn MacMillan, Charlotte Northeast and Meghan Winch have peppered the action with witty feminist asides and fourth wall moments – “we have to write our own stuff to get parts”, and “Jane was a badass despite the patriarchy” – the latter perhaps being the greatest accolade to the author all night.
The small Alma stage, ringed with simple black drapes with only a chaise longue and writing desk for props, was all the better to appreciate the way the players engaged the audience. Giles and Galbraith were both funny and engaging in their dispute about what was the best novel – each demonstrating their more passionate responses to the plots and protagonists. While Bright’s elastic facial expressions and ‘male voicings’ were comedic throughout, be it Mr Bingley as ‘human Labrador’ or during Mr Darcy’s purse-lipped expressions of love.
All the big moments are here: Marianne’s sprained ankle in the rainstorm, Darcy’s swim in the lake, Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s excoriating put down of Elizabeth Bennett, Emma’s realisation that it is she who is in love with Mr Knightly and so on, and so on. And while we can’t help but smile at the lampooning of roles here, because the theatre-making is clearly made with much love for its subject, Jane Austen’s legacy remains untarnished, not only surviving this ‘trial by ordeal’, but possibly winning new readers because of it.
★★★★☆ Simon Bishop, 10 October 2024
Photo credit: Edward J. Felton
