Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) review: this anarchic Austen reboot will make you happy

This all-female cast of five, who play all of the characters, must be the hardest working cast in the West End
The cast of Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of)
Matt Crockett

Truth universally acknowledged and all that, a Jane Austen show in the West End is going to make a lot of people very happy. This sweary, anarchic reboot of Pride and Prejudice by Scottish writer Isobel McArthur, in which an all-female cast of five play all of the characters, pretty much nails it. It’s a joy whether you’re a paid-up Janeite or not.

“Being a f***ing smartarse is… unladylike,” Mrs Bennet tells her daughter Elizabeth, and that basically sets the tone. Arriving in London after a hit run at Glasgow’s Tron Theatre in 2018, McArthur (who also stars and co-directs) offers us a version of this classic that is brilliantly blunt and wears its feminism on its sleeve. And… it’s got KARAOKE, employed to excellent effect as a modern twist on Austen’s social commentary: Darcy refuses to join in, while Mrs Bennet wants to stop Mary singing at all costs. Now we finally know who Carly Simon really wrote You’re So Vain about.

With its own cheeky charm, it throws everything at the wall. Not everything sticks: more could be made of the neat framing device that appoints the novel’s unseen servants as our storytellers, and I wasn’t convinced by a subplot that Charlotte Lucas is secretly in love with Elizabeth. And a bit of judicial trimming is needed – occasionally a reverence for Austen’s words stops the show from zipping along.

Matt Crockett

But this must be the hardest working cast in the West End, with each of the five constantly jumping into new characters, spinning out of costumes and picking up musical instruments. Hannah Jarrett-Scott’s Sloaney pony versions of Charles Bingley and his sister Caroline are hilarious, as is McArthur as ‘mard arse’ Darcy and an inhaler-puffing Mrs Bennet. This show ribs the characters mercilessly – Mr Collins appears by walking out of a toilet and spraying everyone with his wet hands, which is totally something he would do – but a deep affection for the source material is never in doubt.

See it with your friends, take your mum to a matinee, or make it a family trip. Teachers will go down in history for taking their students to see this – the line “I just LOVE balls,” feels exclusively written to make GCSE students giggle. It’s the kind of warm, big-hearted show the West End needs after our horrible year or so – one that’s best enjoyed with others, which you’ll probably pass on as a foolproof recommendation of fun to someone else.

Criterion Theatre, currently booking until February 13; prideandprejudicesortof.com

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in