Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) by Isobel McArthur in York

Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) is taking to the stage at York Theatre Royal from November 4 to 9 with a ‘funny, feminist and front footed’ adaptation of the classic Jane Austen tale.

The play, which won the unprecedented double of an Olivier Award for best comedy and the Emerging Talent Award in the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, is directed by Isobel McArthur and tells the story of the servants in the original play - using karaoke to tell the story and keeping in the comedy usually omitted from modern adaptations.  

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Writer Isobel McArthur described the original novel as a ‘riot’ saying: “I knew instantly that in this book were a set of observations and a cast of characters that needed to be shared with as many people as possible.

"‘Don’t believe what you’ve seen at the movies!’ I wanted to shout, ‘Austen is a right laugh!’"

The adaptation boils down 119 named characters from the original version to an essential 18 – played by five actors – and focuses on female servants in the regency era household, highlighting the way that women were overlooked in the way they facilitated the making of art for centuries.

The show’s cast will also perform a string of pop classics from Young Hearts Run Free to Will You Love Me Tomorrow whilst singing, playing instruments, and undertaking ‘lighting fast’ costume changes.

Actors in Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) (Image: Mihaela Bodlovic)

Whilst the adaptation is based on Austen’s novel, it isn’t an expectation to know the book with Isobel stating that ‘theatre should not require homework – you can always go and read the novel afterwards’.

The cast hail from across the British Isles - Emma Rose Creaner (from Cork) as Tillie, Charlotte Lucas, Charles Bingley and Miss Bingley;  Eleanor Kane (from Glasgow) as Anne, Mary Bennet, Lydia Bennet and Mr Gardiner;  Rhianna McGreevy (from Brighton) as Flo, Mrs Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy;  Naomi Preston Low (from Ilford) as Effie and Elizabeth Bennet; and Christine Steel (from Glasgow) as Clara, Jane Bennet and Lady Catherine de Burgh. 

McArthur continued: “I think we’re all extremely proud of our collective achievements with this show. It first played at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow in 2018 with a two-week run planned.

“To be still doing it now is proof not only that audiences respond to generous entertainment but also that all-female casts with regional accents don’t detract from historical or literary pieces but, rather, enhance them.”