Pride and Prejudice, one of Jane Austen’s most popular books – celebrating its 200th anniversary this year – has been adapted into more than ten different movies, theatre performances, and books. This month, the highly regarded novel finally reached our campus at the Frederic Wood Theatre. And yes, the infamous Mr. Darcy was just as dapper as we expected!
Opening night was last Thursday, November 14th, a night filled with enthusiastic performers and an audience that simply couldn’t wait to witness the UBC Theatre graduating class put on one of the most heart-warming love stories since, we think, ever. Adapted by Jon Jory and directed by Lois Anderson, this was a re-evaluation of 19th century English standards with a slight more modern twist. When asking the UBC Theatre students what they wanted to explore for the Final Presentation, Lois Anderson was shocked to hear that their response was love. But then again, who doesn’t live for a good love story that seems to only be real in our dreams? And who could ever write on manners of morality, upbringing, marriage, family and love better than Jane Austen?
Her Campus was present last Thursday night and we’re ready to bring you all the inside scoops to UBC’s own Pride and Prejudice! First off, the set design by Shelby Bushell simply blew us a-w-a-y. The stage was presented as a bookshelf filled with enlarged Jane Austen novels that were trying to make us feel as though the characters were living inside them; immersed between real-size books placed both vertically and horizontally. In addition, there was a spot between the books at the top, where characters could appear and disappear behind a screen of sorts – a rather genius positioning when characters read out letters from others and in trying to incorporate as many voices as possible.
Take a peek at the books in the background!
Unfortunately, we thought the costume design was a bit more lacking. Although the male characters were wearing beautifully designed suits and jackets, the dresses worn by the female characters of Elizabeth, Lydia, Catherine, Jane and Mary were a tad bit dry. Although they’re supposed to portray a lower-class family, we were surprised they didn’t change their costume at all throughout the show. We were looking forward to some ball gowns! (Even if they would only be cotton or muslin…) Between the costumes and the set, we were expecting at least one of these elements to change.
Nonetheless, the play itself won us over with all the wit and romance we love about Jane Austen’s classic novels. The performance was fast-paced, loud, engaging and with many laugh-out-loud moments on behalf of the audience. The only criticism we can make is the talking was a little too fast at times – for us Her Campus English majors, we’re definitely used to the language and tone of Austen’s novels and books of that era, so it was easy enough for us to follow. But for students with no previous exposure to such language on stage or in literature, we can imagine it would have been a little difficult to grasp what was going on! Nonetheless, it did capture the nature of the novel in its spirit, but for a stage adaptation for a student audience, it could have benefited from slowing down just a little bit.
Elizabeth’s character, Kat McLaughlin stood out with her sharp wit and engaging banter with Mr. Darcy. As she tries to distance herself from having to find a husband of her own, her mother’s expectations and the handsome Mr. Darcy make it difficult for her to not let her feelings get in her way. Particularly entertaining parts were the rather ‘awkward’ silent moments between her and Darcy, where one of them is trying to maintain their pride, or attempting to start a conversation. Either way, we could feel the chemistry!
The last scene of the performance, a very passionate moment (i.e. making out) played out with a modern song in the background definitely caught us by surprise – but in a good way! A classic ‘aww’ moment. We wish they’d incorporated a similar use of music throughout the play, but that likely wasn’t Jory’s nor Anderson’s vision for it. Another time, another adaptation perhaps?
All in all, the play was thoroughly enjoyable but could face mixed opinions depending on the audience’s familiarity with the text. If you haven’t read the book, it might not be your cup of tea! But if you have, you’ll be well rewarded with a great experience.
Be sure to check it out before November 30th 2013 at UBC’s Frederic Wood Theater! You can get your tickets here. Also, keep an eye out for our Campus Cutie section – we’ll be featuring the male leads from the play on it starting this week!