Plied and Prejudice

Let’s start off by saying that if you’re looking for an adaptation of Austen’s masterpiece novel, this is not the show for you. However, if you’re looking for a Victorian themed evening of giggles, this may just hit the spot.

There’s no shortage of adaptations and reworkings of Austen’s tale of Elizabeth Bennet’s turbulent relationship with the aloof, and wealthy, Mr Darcy. For some reason this story has captured our imaginations like nothing else. There have been films, TV shows, plays, and even musicals. They have been told faithfully, abridged, updated, modernised and even transposed to various international cultures. And now we get a theatrical version that is an amalgam of various sorts. This production, titillatingly re-titled as Plied & Prejudice, and pitched as ‘A hysterical adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic at Darcy’s Booziest ball’ this is less a play and more a sort of experience.

Austen’s story is given short shrift and is used more as a staging device than to provide anything close to narrative clarity. If you’re not aware of Austen’s story, this production will provide practically no clarity whatsoever. The source material has been truncated to the point of near absurdity.

Performed by just 5 people, each taking on multiple characters, it’s a frenetic hodgepodge of a story reworked by Matthew Semple, in a mashup of modern and victorian vernacular. The core storyline, about a burgeoning relationship between Bennet and Darcy, is there, along with a few other sub plots, but the narrative flow is clearly missing.

This is compounded by an interesting, if ultimately ill-judged, staging. The stage is set up like a fashion catwalk, with the audience seated either side and the performance playing along the lengthy staging area. This creates an interesting dynamic but ultimately compounds the confusing story by making a significant part of the action out of eye line. Moreover, even though the actors are mic’d up, when the performances move away from being in front of you, the ability to hear what’s going on is significantly compromised.

This said, the performances are great and, as is essential with comedy, delivered with complete conviction. The transformation between characters, stage locations, and costumes is played up for comic effect, but the breakneck speed at which everything is done and the lack of narrative cohesion means that, whilst this is funny, it's a frustrating experience overall.

After the main show there is an afterparty, where some of the cast mingle with the audience, play games with them and continue a sort of ongoing performance. It feels like this is actually the main event - a victorian themed drinks party - and the show itself is just an excuse for them to dress up.

Sonny Waheed