Anna Burnside reviews a production with a ‘tremendous ensemble’.
When proud, arrogant men are having a moment, what could be more enjoyable than seeing one humbled by a sweary dame with a terrifying maw lurking in the background?
Unlike some others we could mention, Fitzwilliam Darcy soon realises that being a full-time mard-arse - there is some excellent regional slang in this production - is not the route to a happy ending.
But not before Lizzie Bennet and her four sisters have rampaged through regency England on their karaoke-fuelled journey to wedded bliss.
Isobel McArthur’s gender-bending freestyle adaptation of Jane Austen’s masterpiece has lost none of its charm. This touring cast, without the creator on the mic, brings a fresh range of accents and some new flavours of sass into the clever reworking, as told by the female servants, who play all the parts.
Rhianna McGreevy is outstanding as Mrs Bennet, who points out to her matrimony-averse daughter: “Being a fucking smartarse is not ladylike.” She doubles as the uptight Darcy just as effectively.
Eleanor Kane, as the plain and put-upon sister, gets a great bite-back at the end. Having been ordered by her mama on no account to sing in polite society, she eventually grabs the spotlight and closes the show with a banging version of’ Young Hearts Run Free’.
But there’s not a weak link in this tremendous ensemble cast who make the troubles of the 21st century recede. If only just for an evening.
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Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) performs at Glasgow Theatre Royal until March 8, 2025. It continues its UK tour with Scottish dates at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre (April 22-26) and Aberdeen’s His Majesty’s Theatre (April 29-May 3). For further information, visit the tour’s website.
Photo by Mihaela Bodlovic.
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