Writer: Isobel McArthur after Jane Austen
Director: Isobel McArthur
Seven years on from its debut at Glasgow’ Tron Theatre Pride and Prejudice (Sort Of) has been on a circuitous route across the UK earlier than touchdown again in its hometown, this time in a 1500 seat venue relatively than the unique 230 seat one. A journey that’s concerned many plaudits together with an Olivier Award for Best Comedy in 2022.
Promising to ship a re-worked model of the Jane Austen traditional for a twenty first Century viewers, and advised from the attitude of the home workers (taking a break from emptying “pissy chamber pots”) it actually delivers on that entrance. The five-strong, all-female solid doubling and tripling up on roles female and male; a script bursting on the seams with intelligent strains; a number of visible jokes; characters clad in Regency garb belting out traditional pop tunes by way of a karaoke machine; the fantastic incongruity of a foul-mouthed bunch of Bennetts. As a lot insanity and mayhem as there may be, there may be additionally a intelligent social commentary that weaves by way of the complete script with parallels that (sadly) journey intact down the 200 years because the work was written.
The large query is; Is it humorous for these unfamiliar with the work? To its credit score, little of the unique plot is sacrificed within the re-telling, all of the acquainted threads are woven in right here, and it might be argued that a lot of the true cleverness of the humour solely actually hits dwelling with a data of the unique textual content, however there’s greater than sufficient to entertain these with solely a smattering of Austen data.
Its biggest asset, aside from Isobel McArthur’s genius writing, is its universally glorious solid. Emma Rose Creaner is a very standout in a knock out solid. Her bodily comedy is simply perfection. The sheer pleasure with which the solid sort out the prolonged script, piano enjoying, singing, dancing, slapstick, costume modifications, cleansing the auditorium previous to curtain up! and hauling on and off all the set dressing, can’t fail to impress.
A courageous option to sort out an writer so beloved however this refreshing tackle the traditional is a piece of utter genius.
Runs till 8 March 2025 | Image: Mihaela Bodlovich
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