So, like me you think Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice is silly? You can think that but maybe don’t articulate it unless you want to be on the receiving end of a pile on. Oops. I realise it’s too late now … I’ve said it.
Having read the book – or as much of it as I could bear – in preparation for Queensland Theatre Company’s hugely successful recent stage adaptation of the Jane Austen classic, I can honestly say I do not get what all the fuss is about. To me they are just very silly English people. But, yes, I know some of you still have in your mind that image of Colin Firth in that wet shirt in the television series.
Now, I am actually looking forward to Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), direct from its triumph at London’s West End where it won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy. This show comes to QPAC from September 30 for a short season and it is a unique and audacious retelling of Jane Austen’s most iconic love story. Men, money and microphones are fought over in this irreverent but affectionate adaptation where the stakes couldn’t be higher when it comes to romance.
So, while it takes the piss it is also a homage. Fair enough.
The five performers who portray the iconic roles of Elizabeth Bennet, Mr Darcy, Jane Bennet, Charles Bingley, Mr and Mrs Bennet and all other characters are Amy Lehpamer, Zoe Ioannou, Kaori Maeda-Judge, Ruby Shannon and Teo Vergara.
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Brisbane-based performer Amy Lehpamer plays Tillie (the housekeeper), Charlotte Lucas, Charles Bingley and Miss Bingley in this loving spoof. And as a former student of English literature, she’s enjoying this literary romp, which has been touring the country.
Lehpamer has previously led the cast of national tours of & Juliet as Anne Hathaway and The Sound of Music as Maria, as well as lead roles in Dusty, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, The Who’s Tommy, School of Rock, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Once, Rock of Ages, The Rocky Horror Show and Shane Warne the Musical. She’s enjoying revisiting Pride and Prejudice.
“I studied the book in year 12 and did English literature at uni and a bit of Austen study,” Lehpamer says. “This is the closest I have come to using my degree.”
She says the show walks “a fine line” between being a send-up and a tribute.
“It’s not completely subverting the book, but it allows for playfulness,” she says. “And it allows us to speak to the audience.”
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It mixes period-style white dresses and Doc Martens with slapstick humour, modern vernacular and karaoke-style pop anthems such as Young Hearts Run Free and You’re So Vain, among other songs. Lehpamer says she also gets to sing an Elvis Costello song – Every Day I Write The Book.
And here’s the really interesting thing. In a bit of an Upstairs Downstairs twist the story is filtered through the sharp, working-class commentary of the staff. That allows for a certain amount of honest commentary and irreverence.
In Britain, The Guardian review riffed on Jane Austen’s intro. “It is a truth universally acknowledged that the British public never tires of re-treading Jane Austen’s classic, from the endless TV remakes to wackier iterations featuring zombies or Bollywood song-and-dance numbers.
“But a musical version in which the entire cast is played by five women posing as jaunty “below stairs” staff? And with hen-night karaoke hits added to the mix?”
You’d like to see that, right? It was a hit in the UK and has been a hit in Australia – with the show doing a seven-week run at Sydney Opera House.
Writer and original director Isobel McArthur describes the show as “a true celebration of love and romance”.
“So, now that the matchmaking is done, I cannot wait to watch Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) and its Australian audiences fall head over heels for each other.”
Co-director Simon Harvey says he feels sure “that the wit, physical comedy and karaoke soundtrack of Isobel MacArthur’s take on Jane Austen’s timeless classic (sort of), will chime with Aussie audiences”.
It has so far. Brisbane audiences lapped up Queensland Theatre Company’s stage version, so they are prepped for a different take on a book that is a global phenomenon 213 years after it was published.
Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) plays the Playhouse, QPAC, September 30 to October 18.
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