Pride and Prejudice
Shakespeare North Playhouse
Imaginarium Theatre are a community arts organisation who deliver educational programmes, schools outreach and free youth theatre classes across the Merseyside region. Every year, their Community Ensemble stage a production in The Cockpit Theatre at Shakespeare North Playhouse. This year’s production was a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice by playwright Rob Brannen.
The basics of the story remain unchanged; Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy meet and overcome their initial dislike for one another to eventually fall in love after putting their individual preconceptions aside. The story though is set in a Northern town, with the Bennet family living paycheck to paycheck and feeling the pinch in the cost-of-living crisis. Mrs Bennet wants her 5 daughters to leave home and really start their lives, but they can’t afford to and Elizabeth (renamed to Lizzy throughout this production rather than just called Lizzy by her loved ones), has absolutely no interest in finding a partner. All that changes though when the big house on the edge of town is sold, and the Bennet sisters are introduced to Mr Bingley and his handsome friend Mr Darcy.
This show was our first viewing of any Imaginarium Theatre production, but if this one is anything to go by we have been missing out! The standard of acting that the Community Ensemble delivered was better than some high profile, professional touring productions we have seen, whilst the costuming and sets were perfect as they not only aided the modernisation, but also provided a continuing gentle nod to the original material.
Each member of the cast of 20 gave a realistic and convincing portrayal of their characters. Lily Kelly as Lizzy Bennet was a joy to watch, and perfectly managed the pacing of the piece. She was every bit the leading lady opposite Daniel Owen as Mr Darcy, and together they made a very believable couple.
The remainder of the Bennet sisters, Jane (Alice McKillop), Kitty (Charlotte Magowan), Lydia (Megan Maher) and Mary (Shellie Daintry), together with Mrs Bennet (Kim Bennett) and Mr Bennet (Francesco La Rocca) were also fantastic. They embodied the individuality of the characters whilst maintaining a familial bond which can be hard to achieve. This Bennet family had warmth and heart which was apparent from the opening scenes.
As part of the modernisation, there is a character of Jane Austen who acts almost as Lizzy’s inner voice. Amber-Page Moss had the difficult task of having to portray a Georgian era woman in a modern setting. She did an impressive job, and had just the right amount of outrage and despair at some of the other character’s choices, however, the inclusion of the Jane Austen character felt unnecessary. Rather than adding to the story, the character seemed to create pauses within the drama. We feel the piece would have worked better had Rob Brannen just continued with the straight modernisation.
Overall though, this was a great piece of theatre. The show was completely sold out, in part likely due to the short window of opportunity to see the production, however, Imaginarium Theatre have created and produced a show that deserves a much longer run and could easily hold it’s own with a full tour. With an array of talent within the group, we’re sure that the cast will be making appearances throughout North West theatre for years to come, and we can’t wait to watch the next Imaginarium Theatre production at Shakespeare North Playhouse.
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