Pride & Prejudice
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| Photo credit: Open Air Theatre |
Oh England, land of many great people and
things.
And indisputably one of those great people
is Jane Austen, and great things – her novels. And Mr Darcy. And Henry Tilney.
And – right. Sorry.
It pains me that I cannot be there to
attend what I think would be a Summer highlight, and a combination of some of
the greatest British things – Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. At the
theatre. In summer. *Outdoors.
*Ask the weather to be kind, for there are fewer things more
lovely than a dry London Summer’s day, and fewer things worse – okay, slight
exaggeration- than a wet London Summer’s day.
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre will play
host to the stage version of Pride & Prejudice, until the 20th of
July. And although there is always reason to see Darcy brooding, Mrs Bennett in
a flap, the long suffering Mr Bennett’s witty one-liners, and a couple of
lovely love stories - it is even more fitting on the novel’s 200th
anniversary.
With the fabulous Jane Asher (Death at a
Funeral, Holby City) as Lady Catherine de Bourgh – I can only imagine how deliciously
terrifying she will be! David Oakes (The Borgias, The White Queen) as broody Mr
Darcy, and Lamda graduate Jennifer Kirby makes her professional stage debut as
Miss Lizzy Bennett. And according to the Evening
Standard her portrayal is intelligent and her ‘laughing demeanour and sparkling eyes make her the perfect foil for
David Oakes’s brooding,
depth-suggesting Mr Darcy.’
I
honestly believe – weather permitting – it would be one of the loveliest
evenings out – summer’s night, beautiful surroundings, and a wonderful
atmosphere. Also, you can have afternoon tea while enjoying the show (matinee) or dinner (Seated dining, Bbq or buffet) before the evening show (with coffee
and dessert at interval!); photographic proof points to it being delicious and
aesthetic and if I were in London for summer, it would have been at the top of my
list. So please, as an ardent Austen fan**, I implore you to let me live
vicariously through you – go, enjoy, celebrate, and send
in your thoughts on the night!
For more information and to book tickets, visit Open Air Theatre.
**Having
been dressed to the nines as a child by my parents in velvet dresses with
beautiful lace collars, cuffs, bags and stockings, very much in the likeness of the Victorian era. I am mightily proud of my
heritage, but there has only ever been one downside – after being primed to
love Jane Austen and Victorian literature (even if by default) from such a
young age, it is unlikely that I will ever be able to participate in a period
drama (BBC or otherwise) as a spirited heroine or otherwise. But I’m still holding out for the
discovery of a long lost manuscript that dear Jane, Elizabeth Gaskell, George
Eliot, et al left behind, featuring a short, mixed-race heroine/spirited gypsy/maid…
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