Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of)

Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of)

This is a stunning, joyous, rapture to watch. It is a total riot of fun from start to finish.

Jan Austen's iconic and timeless classic is given a funny, feminist reboot, with a cast of six sassy young women on stage, playing each and every role, female and male, with panache and witty, classy precision.

To say this was enjoyable is a massive understatement - this was perfection, earning a rapturous standing ovation from the press night audience.

Sassy Rock and Roll

Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of)

Sassy lassies, regency rom-com and a rock and roll attitude and soundtrack make this a gem you will treasure the experience of seeing for a long time after the footlights have faded.

It includes witty, subtle and unexpected stage craft, with a fruit plate being offered up only to have a microphone rather than the expected banana plucked from the plate, and then the bearer deftly sliding into yet another superb musical number, this was just magical. In the same way, a trumpet emerges like magic from a bin, and its music bursts unexpectedly into life.

The fourth wall is shattered from the get go, with the servants of the house leading the story off, and asides and conspiratorial winks and nods all the way through, as well as ventures off stage and unexpected appearances in the stalls.

The performances are all astounding, with deft direction, sound and lighting effects all combining to provide a spectacle that I would gladly have watched all over again a minute after it ended.

Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of)

Six Electric Performances

Take a bow, ladies, in alphabetical order:

1. Tori Burgess is especially hilarious when she plays Lydia.
2. Felixe Forde delights both as the excruciating Mr Collins and lascivious rogue George Wickam.
3. Christina Gordon is perfect as Jane, and seems to channel Meryl Streep's Devil wears Prada persona as Lady Catherine.
4. Hannah Jarret-Scott inhabits all of her roles from Mr (and Miss) Bingley to Tillie with astonishing craft.
5. Isobel McArthur is a delight as a northern Mrs Bennett and as an incarnation Colin Firth's Darcy, but with a broad Glasgow East End accent. She also has the audacity to be the writer of this whole work of genius.
6. Meghan Tyler as Effie and Elizabeth is the central character, and her feisty attitude and Irish accent are perfect for the roles.

With each actor playing up to five separate roles with staggering fluency and the inclusion of accents and mannerisms that gave a nod to everything from Fleabag to Billy Connolly, and accents from Irish to Glaswegian, to see this is to witness the craft of theatre at its stunning best.

Lighting, sound, stage design and set, movement, choreography, music, casting - all, like the show itself, really deserve 6 stars.

Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of)

Book yourself a ticket to see this show today, as it surely will, if there is any justice in the world, sell out rapidly by word of mouth alone. Grab yourself a drink, top it up in the interval as you chat with your friends, and just wallow in the fun, the music, the insights into human nature, and the pure joy of a work rebooted into the 21st century with huge flair and style.

***** 5 stars (6 if we wanted to break our rating system) | Book Tickets