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Pride and Prejudice – Review « Applause! Meter http://applause-meter.com/2012/10/20/pride-and-prejudice-review/
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Pride and Prejudice – Review
20 Oct
1 of 6 20/11/12 11:10 AM
Pride and Prejudice – Review « Applause! Meter http://applause-meter.com/2012/10/20/pride-and-prejudice-review/
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Tyrell Crews as Mr. Darcy, Shannon Taylor as Elizabeth Bennet, photo by Trudie Lee
(http://applausemeter.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/pride-prejudice-jessica.jpg)
Pride and Prejudice
2 of 6 20/11/12 11:10 AMPride and Prejudice – Review « Applause! Meter http://applause-meter.com/2012/10/20/pride-and-prejudice-review/
October 16 – November 11, 2012
Max Bell Theatre
http://theatrecalgary.com/plays/pride_and_prejudice/more_info/ (http://theatrecalgary.com
/plays/pride_and_prejudice/more_info/)
If there is any doubt about the enduring and alluring power of Jane Austen’s 19th century
story, Pride and Prejudice, one need only look at the number of modern adaptations and
imitations as proof. From BBC’s television 1995 version which propelled Colin Firth to
stardom to the 2001 mega Hollywood hit, Bridget Jones’ Diary to 2004’s Bollywood musical,
Bride and Prejudice, Austen’s story still resonates with us almost 200 years after it was first
published.
And now, Theatre Calgary has given this story about manners and class and morality a
distinctly Western Canadian makeover. Dissatisfied with the available screenplays for Pride
and Prejudice, Theater Calgary Artistic Director Dennis Garnhum hired Victoria playwright
Janet Munsil to provide a completely fresh adaptation. The result is a beautifully realized
economic reworking where the fat is trimmed from Austen’s prose and narrative, leaving a
tightly told story that gives plenty of room for the cast to shine brightly.
The story, very much a product of its setting and time, deals humorously with the issues of
class and inheritance in Georgian England. Mr. Bennett is an English country gentleman
living surrounded by women – his overbearing wife and five daughters –good and beautiful
Jane, the headstrong and clever Elizabeth, the bookish Mary, impish, silly Kitty and wild
child Lydia. Having no male heirs, Mr. Bennet’s estate will be inherited by a distant cousin,
leaving Mrs. Bennet fearful of what is to become of her and her unmarried daughters. So
eager is Mrs. Bennet to marry off her girls and secure their future, that when Mr. Bingley, a
rich upper-class gentleman buys a large house next door, she practically orders Jane, her
eldest to make haste and see that she capture Mr. Bingley’s affections. But matters are
complicated by Mr. Bingley’s companions – his snooty sister Caroline and the
extraordinarily wealthy, dashing and proud Mr. Darcy, both of whom see the Bennets as
beneath their kind and inappropriate marriage candidates. However despite this elitist
backdrop, sparks fly when main character Elizabeth Bennet meets Mr. Darcy. Sparks that
manifest firstly as a great hatred for one another but gradually evolve over time into one of
the most enduring love stories ever told.
Set on a stage coloured with lovely pale pastel hues, huge papyrus-like background
structures and large origami-esque ecru flowers framing the stage, Patrick Clark’s set design
mixes the abstract with the romantic making way for many simple but effective prop
changes that don’t clutter the actors or the action. And with seventeen cast members and
numerous scenes, there is a lot not to get in the way of. Thankfully for the most part Director
Denis Garnhum’s adroit and unfussy direction matches Munsil’s efficient adaptation, giving
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room for the uniformly talented cast to fill the space physically and spiritually. Perhaps
Garnhum could have reined things in a bit, omitting a few transitions where flitting about
seemed to be employed to cover up scene changes and doing away with the obvious and
hackneyed open-shirt scene featuring Mr. Darcy. But these are small quibbles in an
otherwise sure-footed piece of direction.
With the words and the sets and the direction firmly in place, this production of Pride and
Prejudice opened the door for the audience to sit back and revel in the performances. While
Austen’s characters can be criticized as clichéd or stereotypical, the cast played these
stereotypes with such glee, intensity and masterful aptitude that you couldn’t help but laugh
at them and with them as you eagerly went along for the ride.
In fact, with so many great performances, I’m afraid this review would drag on far longer
than anyone wishes to read if I singled out every cast member. However it would be remiss
not to mention the few that particularly stood out in my mind. Alan Morgan and Elizabeth
Stepkowski Tarhan as Mr. and Mrs. Bennet brought incredible humanness and much
humour to their characters. In Tarhan’s able hands, Mrs. Bennet’s over the top domineering
and angst never pushes into overwrought hysteria and Morgan’s expertly played moments
with Elizabeth ooze fatherly love that one cannot help being touched by.
Unlike other productions I’ve seen where the lesser Bennet sisters fade away into a melange
of one-dimensional background noise, the actresses in this production managed to bring
each sister to the forefront and distinguish themselves, if not as fully rounded characters,
them something more interesting than a convention. Kitty, the silly easily influenced
daughter is perhaps the hardest role to shine in given the character’s superfluous role to
play. But even with the narrative challenges, Leda Davis manages to bring an infectious
energy to her performance that caused me to feel much greater fondness for the character
than I have previously felt. It was a small role, but Davis made it stand out.
Another small role I left the theatre wowed by was Terry Tweed’s double bill as
noblewoman Lady Catherine and Mrs. Reynolds, Darcy’s housekeeper. The two characters
couldn’t have been more different in everything but age, but Tweed brought each one alive
with subtle and particular gestures, cadence and nuance. Perhaps more than anyone in the
cast, Tweed showcased that attention to detail and embodiment of a character can elevate a
minor role into a masterful performance that I will not soon forget.
Nor will I forget Shannon Taylor as Elizabeth. It’s a role I’ve seen many times before and it’s
a pet peeve of mine when the actresses cross the line between being headstrong over to
being shrill and even prissy. With Taylor there was no such worry. Playing with confidence
and emotional accuracy, Taylor’s Elizabeth took her place firmly at the center of the
narrative and provided the perfect tone for her evolving relationship with Darcy. Even if it
took a while for us to really root for her. Perhaps collateral damage from such a tight script
or perhaps it just took a while for Taylor to warm up enough to win us over, but I found my
affection for Elizabeth in this production to be a product of time rather than an instant liking.
That said, when it was won, it was won completely.
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Then of course there’s the role of Mr. Darcy, played here by Tyrell Crews. Talk about an
iconic role – totemic actually! According to a poll done by the esteemed Orange Prize for
fiction on what literary character most women would want to be romantically involved
with, women across generations overwhelmingly chose Mr. Darcy. And during a quick
Google search, I found no fewer than twelve fan-sites devoted to the character not to
mention the countless web pages dedicated to the various men that have played the role. In
other words, Crews had big shoes to fill. And he did so admirably. His own devastatingly
good looks aside, Crews expertly affected the posture of a man who is dashing and knows it,
yet dismisses it as beneath him to think about . This in combination with controlled emoting
and very good timing clad him well in the Darcy swath and no doubt had more than a few
ladies swooning in the audience. It was a shame then that Crew’s Darcy lacked a bit of bite
due to an adaptation that seemed to take some of the initial callousness and unpleasantness
out of his character. Instead, we get a Darcy that comes across as more antisocial and shy
than priggish, making the transition to finally overcoming his pride and prejudice less
dramatic. I believe Crews had the ability to take it up a notch, I would like to have seen
Garnhum encourage him to do so.
In the end, I have to ask myself, did I really need to see another production of Pride and
Prejudice? And while the answer is no, with so many excellent performances in this superbly
executed production I am glad I saw this one. It’s a story that keeps winning our hearts
again and again and sometimes that’s not a bad thing to look forward to in a night at the
theatre.
RATING
For the guys – Yes this story is the ultimate chick flick. But it’s funny and clever and expertly
acted and you’ll actually like Elizabeth, both as a character and as a woman. SEE IT
For the girls – Swooning over Darcy should be enough to get you to the theatre, but what
will keep you there are the incredible performances and the beauty of the production. SEE
IT
For the occasional theatre goer – It’s timeless, funny, romantic and lavish. A total package.
SEE IT
For the theatre junkie – How many times have you seen this? Sure, it’s been done to death.
But the joy of seeing an entire cast with this much talent and a production so flawlessly
executed might be worth another look. SEE IT
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