Until February 28th, the Jane Austen classic, Pride and Prejudice comes to life, onstage at The Arts Club Theatre Company Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage.
The 200 year old story of manners is turned into a comedy of errors under direction of Sarah Rodgers.
The simple set decoration and costumes portray the British Regency occupied by Elizabeth Bennet, amiably played by Naomi Wright, her family, friends and acquaintances.
Eric Craig’s Mr Darcy does well to fill the shoes of one of the most loved leading men in literature. In an homage to Colin Firth’s legendary wet shirt scene in the BBC miniseries, Craig’s onstage shirtless moment is gravely understated, missing the chance to highlight Darcy becoming an object of affection.
While the majority of the cast were comfortable in the costume drama a few members of the cast didn’t appear confident in their British accent resulting in some wooden performances. Some parts, like Mr Darcy and Elizabeth, were played like a straight drama while other characters, fell far to the farcical side creating many laughs. For those of us on the sides of the theatre, the vocals all but disappeared if the player turned the opposite direction, which contributed to making the play feel uneven, hopefully it was just an opening night technical issue.
While I found it uneven, from the laughs and comments of many in the audience, Pride and Prejudice was an enjoyable evening for many.
Pride and Prejudice runs until February 28th at The Arts Club Theatre Company Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage.