REVIEW: Pride and Prejudice (Sort Of) – Theatre Royal, Glasgow
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 around the UK before landing back in its hometown, this time in a 1500 seat venue rather than the original 230 seat one. A journey that’s involved many plaudits including an Olivier Award for Best Comedy in 2022.
Promising to deliver a re-worked version of the Jane Austen classic for a 21st Century audience, and told from the perspective of the domestic staff (taking a break from emptying “pissy chamber pots”) it certainly delivers on that front. The five-strong, all-female cast doubling and tripling up on roles male and female; a script bursting at the seams with clever lines; a host of visual jokes; characters clad in Regency garb belting out classic pop tunes through a karaoke machine; the glorious incongruity of a foul-mouthed bunch of Bennetts. As much madness and mayhem as there is, there is also a clever social commentary that weaves through the entire script with parallels that (unfortunately) travel intact down the 200 years since the work was written.
The big question is; Is it funny for those unfamiliar with the work? To its credit, little of the original plot is sacrificed in the re-telling, all the familiar threads are woven in here, and it could be argued that much of the true cleverness of the humour only really hits home with a knowledge of the original text, but there’s more than enough to entertain those with only a smattering of Austen knowledge.
Its greatest asset, apart from Isobel McArthur’s genius writing, is its universally excellent cast. Emma Rose Creaner is a particularly standout in a knock out cast. Her physical comedy is just perfection. The sheer joy with which the cast tackle the lengthy script, piano playing, singing, dancing, slapstick, costume changes, cleaning the auditorium prior to curtain up! and hauling on and off all of the set dressing, can’t fail to impress.
A brave choice to tackle an author so beloved but this refreshing take on the classic is a work of utter genius.
Runs until 8 March 2025 | Image: Mihaela Bodlovich
