Transcript
Speaker: Hey Melinda! Hey Stephanie! What if I told you that Pride and Prejudice was a stage play where the story is told by five female servants in various costumes with a lot of 80s karaoke hits thrown in for good measure?
Speaker: Well Stephanie, I think that sounds like something that we saw at the Opera House fairly recently.
Speaker: Welcome to Jane Austen Remixed, where we investigate the portable karaoke machine-wielding and very fast costume-changing world of Pride and Prejudice adaptations. I'm Stephanie.
Speaker: And I'm Melinda. And today we'll be examining the stage play Pride and Prejudice Asterisk Sort Of by Isabel McArthur. Now, this play premiered in 2018 in Scotland, which actually really explains a few of the costumes and the accents that we saw on offer yeah in the show.
Speaker: And it is written for a cast of usually five, but also apparently there is space for six characters. female actors who each play a brand new servant character as well as several of the familiar main characters from the novel.
Speaker: It opened on the West End in London in 2021 and it picked up the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play in 2022. So it's been wildly successful over, I think it's had three runs now.
Speaker: wow. And it is currently touring Australia. And Melinda and i along with my mother, took ourselves off to see it last weekend at the Sydney Opera House. A sort of last hurrah before I am in the newborn trenches, as I will be, dear listener, by the time you were hearing this episode.
Speaker: For our Australian listeners, specifically anyone in Queensland, you still might be able to get a ticket to the Brisbane production. It's showing in the Playhouse Theatre until the 18th of October. Now, while I would normally be giving a spoiler warning here to jump off and read or to watch our chosen media, this week that's a bit difficult.
Speaker: There is a script available for purchase, which Melinda discovered, but I'm not really sure that that captures the magic of the theatre experience. We'll just have to hope it keeps touring and you listeners everywhere can get to see it.
Speaker: Agreed. There's definitely something about seeing it live that I just don't think we're going to be able to capture in this episode, but it's an adaptation. So here we are. We're going to do our best.
Speaker: I'm also going note up front that our discussion of the play will focus more on the parts of the adaptation that we loved and also that we didn't think gelled quite so much. As the production is basically a straight retelling of the story, just in a slightly kookier way, there is less plot to discuss, but we'll note a few changes that we noticed along the way.
Speaker: Let's get into the stage play. As I mentioned, the plot sticks very closely to the original novel and the costumes are sort of Regency style with polices thrown over day dresses for the ladies and the men represented by vaguely era appropriate jackets over those same day dresses.
Speaker: Remember, all the actresses are women. The main difference is the language. It's quite modern and if you're sensitive to swearing there are a few f-bombs scattered throughout. I will however note at this point that my mother hates swearing in any form of media and she didn't think it was overly sweary and wasn't put off by it at all.
Speaker: It is however more adult in case you have young teens that might be interested. I did notice, however, that the Sydney Opera House, which is where we saw are actually putting on some school versions. So there is clearly a teen version of this that if it happens to be touring in your area that you can actually see if you want to see the young people version.
Speaker: Yes. And I did actually notice on the video, on the comments of the video that we listened to earlier, there is someone who said they saw it in Edinburgh and that their school-aged child was taken to the school version of it. So hopefully there will be an option for younger members of your family who might like to see it.
Speaker: The main difference, as I noted already, is that the characters, apart from all being women, do break out into song throughout the stage play with a selection of well-known and also not quite as well-known eighty songs. We did think it was a bit of a swing starting with the Elvis Costello cover.
Speaker: Maybe it was more famous in the UK, but none of us really knew it. I vaguely remembered it from The Wedding Singer. Oh, okay. I had zero context for this song. All I knew about this stage play going in was Pride and Prejudice, but also with karaoke, which when I explained to my work colleagues, they thought I was going to a Pride and Prejudice play and then going to karaoke. Like I'm not doing karaoke guys. It's in the show. But I did not recognize this song at all. I think I might've led over to Steph spoken to her at halftime and said, so I recognize like the other songs in this act.
Speaker: Was that first one an original? genuinely had no idea. so it was it was an odd place to start. i get why we started there because it's about books and opening and writing a chapter, which makes sense in context. but And it's a love song.
Speaker: Yeah, but no recognition at all. I really had to dig back through my memory and i was right. My initial thought was, i think this is in The Wedding Singer, which is that Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore movie, because it has an absolute cracker of a soundtrack. It's incredible. And i was like, I'm sure I remember it from that. But even I wasn't sure. i did look up the lyrics. I wasn't sure whether they had changed the first verse to make it so specific. But no, it was completely unchanged.
Speaker: So anyway, it was i thought it was an interesting place to start. Those songs were much more well known. Yes. The other thing I really loved from up front was the phone warning. So remember to turn your phones off because anyone whose phone goes off will be stuck with multiple unwed daughters. I loved that.
Speaker: Yes, that sentence started with the truth universal acknowledges if you don't turn your phone off, you're left with unwed daughters, which it was very entertaining. The other cool thing about the start of the play too was that the actors actually walked through the audience and yeah they are servants, as we've mentioned, so they were like cleaning the seats. Yeah.
Speaker: So if you got in there just before it started, the actors were kind of, there were two on either side and they were just like walking down randomly cleaning seats and talking to people as they sat down. Sadly, we didn't get to talk to anyone. We were too far away from the aisle, but it's okay. There was one, there was ah one quite close to us, but we were already seated. yes Yeah. So we didn't get the chance to do any interacting. Things like that always make me quite nervous though. Yeah. I think mostly because my first experience in a theatre show with the actors coming out beforehand and interacting with the audience was Rocky Horror.
Speaker: Oh. And then deliberately off-putting. Yeah, like that would be intense. It was confronting. some we were also sitting like in the second row of the theatre that we saw it in and there was no orchestra pit.
Speaker: Oh, that's close. We were very close to the stage. And I just remember staring at the floor and being like, please, please don't touch me. Fair.
Speaker: So that was fun. I really enjoyed the production overall, but the bit at the beginning, no, thank you. I'm i'm a big fan of the fourth wall not being broken. Is that a good segue to mention the fourth wall breaks in this?
Speaker: It is great segue, Melinda. Okay. Okay. The cool thing as well, as well as the actors being in the audience and then the phone warning being about Pride and Prejudice, is this play breaks the fourth wall constantly. so if you're not a theatre or a movie person, that basically just means acknowledging the audience. So saying, speaking directly to them with either things that are happening or referring to them. So the show opens with the servants on the stage after they sing the Elvis Costello song, cleaning, and then talking about how
Speaker: We as audience members talking directly to us like the romances that happen with the upstairs stuff and they're all downstairs stuff, but it's really the downstairs stuff that actually make the magic happen. So it's quite fun and they play with it a few times, which I'm sure we'll bring up as we discuss the adaptation.
Speaker: Yeah, it was great. That really was quite fun, like bringing the audience into it in that way. i Totally. I'm fine with that kind of fourth wall breaking, guys. I'm a complete stick in the mud, I promise. No, good, good.
Speaker: The other part that I really loved at the beginning was how they set up Mrs. Bennett. And there is always a worry when you go to something like this, like how hyper-specific that is it going to be to Pride and Prejudice fans? And how enjoyable would it be if you took someone like my mother, who is, you know, a fan of the storyline and has watched like the 1995 version, but she's never read the book.
Speaker: If she did, it was very long time ago. Sorry, mum. And she's not like as very into it as we are. Yes. And there's always that worry where you think,
Speaker: are they going to enjoy it or are all the jokes going to be super niche? yeah And there was a really good selection, I thought, of yeah both of those things for the whole audience.
Speaker: And so, yeah, the framing of Mrs. Bennet at the beginning really sets up the story and explains it in context in a way that while it sort of explains her insane behaviour about her daughters in relation to the end tale and how she'll get kicked out and she'll be homeless and they'll be destitute as soon as Mr. Bennet dies. it was understandable and it was done in a very funny way. And I thought it was quite sympathetic to her while still also displaying how awful she is as a character. Yes, it was definitely both.
Speaker: So we open and in order to introduce all of... the main family characters, we see the the actresses getting in and out of costumes while they're quote unquote getting ready for the Meriton assembly, which I thought was a really great way to introduce and fantastic who was playing who. And each costume in each colour is a specific person. So the pink dress was Mary. So every time that actress had the pink dress on, she was Mary. So it's just that really easy way to keep track of the characters and who was playing who in each particular moment. My favorite part of this was about Mrs. Bennet saying that Mary was easy to forget, but then we never see Kitty. Yes.
Speaker: No, no one plays Kitty. And they also brought out a screen to sit in the middle of. So while they were getting ready, The actresses were going behind the screen. You heard Kitty get spoken to a couple of times. Like Lydia exclusively.
Speaker: Yes, to have that. And then you never see her was very funny. And then she's like vaguely referenced a couple of times, like Lydia and Kitty fighting. Kitty had an ear cut off.
Speaker: Oh, yeah, that was near the end. It was just like this random line about how, oh, yeah, they were fighting and Kitty lost an ear. It was like, what? Yeah. But I think that's probably a really good description of the humor in this. yes A lot of it was very referential, like Steph said, but then there were just some absurdist bombs just dropped in the middle, which were, look, I have a very, very slim absurdist streak where I find stuff very funny and this is my absurdist streak. So I was like, okay, I don't know why Kitty's lost in here, but great, here we go. And then it was never brought up again and I was like, oh.
Speaker: There is quite a lot of physical comedy in it as well, which is quite good. And we'll sort of talk about that as we go through. The music, I know we complained about the first song. The music is done really well.
Speaker: I actually really enjoyed it. I wasn't yeah really sure about how that was going to go, but it it worked really well. And I think... We kicked off really strongly after the Elvis Costello incident with Lizzie after she gets snubbed by Darcy singing You're So Vain by Carly Simon.
Speaker: And the fun thing to note here is that when Bingley and Jane are kind of setting themselves up to do stuff, singing and duetting song was dancing.
Speaker: That was how they set it up. So, you know, oh I need a duet partner so Charles and Jane can dance. But, oh, Darcy, can you be Lizzie's duet partner? And he stuffs it up. And yes, then we launch into You're So Vain.
Speaker: He just calls it barely tolerable on mic. The main actress plays Bingley and Caroline and seeing her in this bit, like jumping over Darcy's shoulder and singing his bit. Yes. Into the microphone then being like, come on, Darcy, come on, you can do it. It was very, Bingley in this very dumb.
Speaker: Yes. Obviously meant to be a caricature and they're meant to be like, they're making fun of everyone who they're playing. Yes. Because it's the servants sort of like lightly mocking all of their masters.
Speaker: The Charles in this one is just so savagely portrayed as a himbo. think we're past himbo. He's just so dumb. Yeah. Yeah, he's dumbass.
Speaker: Jane was also quite ditzy. Yeah. And then she was also portrayed. So the the funny thing about the balls in this was the balls were about once a month.
Speaker: I think that's what Mrs. Bennett says at one point, but they have little signs next to like a table. And then there was just the karaoke machine and a whole stack of what I believe are called, but I don't think we have them in Australia, the red solo cups. Yeah. If you're an American listener, I believe that's what they're called.
Speaker: We just have plastic disposable cups that we use for gatherings like that. But they they took on a very specific red tone and I'm like, I think that's what they're called in America. yeah yeah The Red Solo Cup, I think because of all those American college movies, have just become like shorthand for this is a party.
Speaker: Yes. So the balls were very much set up what I imagine a college party was. We've got the karaoke machine. There's people getting drunk.
Speaker: Weaving back to where I was going with that, Jane was a very tipsy person. loud, happy drunk every time she, like it was, it was quite amusing. So yeah. Seeing them all swigging out of champagne bottles at some points was quite funny.
Speaker: So yes, I mean, it's not a very respectful adaptation, but not also not disrespectful. It's irreverent.
Speaker: Is that the word? yeah resro Yeah. That's a better word for it. Irreverent. So poking fun while still having fun with the source material. Like it wasn't, as we've discussed on some of these other adaptations, it wasn't punching down at the audience. It was definitely going, hey, you know this, right?
Speaker: And at the same level. Yeah, yeah, and like bringing you were along with them on on the journey. I will say the Australian cast was absolutely phenomenal. They're fantastic. Oh, that was stellar.
Speaker: I think the actress playing Mary I saw online, it's her theatre debut, like her professional theatre debut. Stop I'm fairly serious and I'm going to look this up while we're talking, but I'm fairly certain it was her debut and she was incredible. She's amazing.
Speaker: Yeah. It was great. The actress who played Anne, which is her servant name, Mary, Lydia, Mr. Collins and Mrs. Gardner. Talk about it. Yes. Quartet of roles is named Ruby Shannon and it is her professional theatre debut in this production. so That's why she got, I think she got a little bit teary in the curtain call when everyone stood up. I noticed, i was like, oh, she looks like she's getting emotional. I'm like, I would absolutely be as well. I'm getting a standing ovation in the opera house. so My professional debut. Oh my God. She's, she was incredible. And like, as you just heard from Melinda reading out the range of characters that she was playing, absolutely stellar.
Speaker: stellar other musical highlights for me was uh smooth operator coming on for Wickham yeah loved that that was really good like introducing him to that song and this is also where I have to mention Chekhov's Bin oh Chekhov's Bin There's a few checkoff moments in this that did not come to anything, which was kind of funny, but also what is happening. So do you want to set it up, Stephanie?
Speaker: Yeah. So Lizzie is introduced to Wickham and as they're seeing like smooth operator, they wheel out a giant bright orange garbage bin, like a skip bin, out onto the stage. And it says Jane Ostbin.
Speaker: yeah on it. Very funny, hilarious. And they're like leaning on it, like smoking while, yeah with the cool kids smoking the alleyway. and me Lizzie's like, oh, it's okay. You don't have to tell me. He's like, no, if you insist, I'll tell you all about my run-ins with Darcy kind of thing. And it just, yeah, that was the scene.
Speaker: The thing that comes out of the bins though is the other half of the cast playing an accordion and a violin Almost doing, now I did recognize the song, but I could not tell you what it was called.
Speaker: It was an instrumental. It was basically like, you know, woe is me, but ah, this guy's lying, kind of as they were playing. Yeah. But it was a was very entertaining that they just popped up and serenaded them and then just disappeared down back into the bin when Wickham had finished his story. and then Yeah, and then the bin just got wheeled off. yeah And i was I was expecting it to come back and to have him thrown into the bin. I mean, we really needed our our villain thrown into the bin at some stage. And it did not happen. It did not happen. I was very disappointed. i would have taken Caroline being tipped into the bin at one point. That would have been quite absurd.
Speaker: it was just a great pun. And that was it. Enjoyable. Enjoyable. no Yes. Caroline is predictably awful throughout the whole thing. There were a few slight changes to the storyline. Yes. And I think obviously they have to really concertina the whole thing. It didn't really feel that rushed. Yeah.
Speaker: even though the second half set a pretty cracking pace because the the halftime break is just after the Netherfield ball. So there's a lot more set up to it than there is actually storyline in the second half.
Speaker: Lots of things get concertinaed into each other. And I think the one that I didn't understand, because I think they could have done it quite easily just by mentioning it, was Lydia didn't run away from Brighton. She just ran away from home when the militia left.
Speaker: Yes. Did she run away or was she kidnapped? Did they say she was kidnapped or was that just Georgiana? They kept saying Georgiana had been kidnapped. Okay, right. By a man who had convinced her that she was in love with him. Okay. That was in Darcy's letter. Yeah.
Speaker: That I think was just like a slightly more modern framing. Okay. I assumed they were using the word kidnap as like just a slightly more modern shorthand for him convincing her to elope with him. But then later on when Lizzie gets home, Lydia's letter that she left at the house was the militia's gone. There's no point in me being here. I'm going to Gretna Green to get married.
Speaker: Yeah, it was very short. i just didn't understand why they couldn't just have Lydia's been in Brighton as the guest of Colonel Forster and she's run away with a soldier. Like that line would be so easy to slot in. That was the one I just didn't really understand why they cut it out because you don't need to explain that to an audience that doesn't understand. And the people that do know would just go, oh yeah, fine.
Speaker: Yeah. There were a couple of plot points that were kind of swapped around in the first act. So we go from Meriton Assembly... That kind of all tracks the same. Jane has this very hilarious ride to Netherfield when she gets the invite. They bring out this giant fake horse onto the stage and then one of the servants stands in front and clops like the old school coconuts. I did not get my Monty Python reference.
Speaker: Where did you get coconuts from? I don't know. Maybe a swallow carried them here. a European swallow or an African swallow? Don't It's a whole thing. But someone stood in front of them and making the c clopping noises. And then someone came past. So this was the other fun part about the fact that it was the servants doing the retelling. They then had someone with ah a squeegee mop. So by squeegee mop, I'm talking about an extendable mop that has a flat sponge on the end. And when you push it, the sponge folds in half. So someone was walking along the front of the stage making cacao noises like a bird and had the sponge like imitating a bird flapping like a bird.
Speaker: Oh my God, I'd forgotten that. And there was someone else doing something just as strange. Spray bottle. Oh, the spray bottle for the rain. They had someone that was just kind of standing on, there was a staircase on the set and she was standing on the staircase squirting at the Jane actor. Just squirting water. Until she slowly got wetter and wetter.
Speaker: Yeah. And then when they did the scene with Lizzie, apparently was still raining when Lizzie set off. She decided she wanted to walk. So the other actor just kept like moving around the stage and spritzing Lizzie. Lizzie would around and be like, go away. She'd hide another bit and then spritz her again.
Speaker: This is the physical comedy we're talking about, which probably doesn't sound that funny when we're describing it to you. But I guarantee you, it was very funny. And then when Lizzie arrives at Netherfield to see Jane, she has an entirely new costume that is just like it was green and it's just brown. And then the bit that I found hilarious was she had this giant stick with some leaves on it in her hair just sticking up.
Speaker: and it was Like a fancy lady's fascinator, but quite clearly a stick that just got wedged her hair. Yeah, from all the walking. So that was quite entertaining. Yes. And then after that, we do get some of the Netherfield section. So we get Caroline trying to hit on Darcy, basically, in one of the cringiest moments in the show that was very funny, but it was, it was skin crawling. Yeah.
Speaker: Oh, it was awful. was incredible. Basically just trying to like make, I don't know, we even know what you call it, but just trying to flirt with Darcy using only her body language and making everything suggestive.
Speaker: And Lizzie's just sitting there reading a book and Caroline is just on a lounge doing her thing. It's a lot. That actor, her range as well, going from doing Mr Bingley, incredibly stupid and happy and cheery and then incredibly snobby while just also incredibly odd, Caroline.
Speaker: The accent for Caroline I loved. Very funny. Very mocking, posh, over-the-top accent. um And then Mr Collins arrives, though, interestingly enough, and proposes before the Netherfield Ball. Yes. That all happens right at the end of Act 1. Yes.
Speaker: Yeah, I didn't quite understand why he had to propose before the ball. Probably because of the transition to the interval, because they were all mid fancy dress. And instead of the other running gag throughout the entire show was that Mary was never allowed to sing. Because as we all know slumber deer maid cannot let Mary near a piano or a microphone. So every time she offered to sing, they had to keep shepherding her away. And Mrs. Bennet told her it was because she was too good and she'd make everyone else look bad. Yes. So that was one of the running gags. But because she wasn't allowed to sing, is it Jane breaks a vase?
Speaker: That priceless Japanese vase that Caroline bought Charles? That was Chekhov's vase and that did pay off. I was like, that's getting smashed. And it did. And it did. And the interval break was the vase smashes. Everyone looks around and the actors half take their costumes off. They've got their dresses, their servant gear underneath, but take all the costume parts off and then go, Oh, what are you still here? We've got to clean up now. We're still working. So I think that might be the only reason it yeah feels like the Neverfield ball was the spot to end because of that break, which was also perfect.
Speaker: It makes sense. And i I did really like the way that they introduced the halftime break by doing the, oh my God, we got carried away. We have to clean up. We're still working. And there's like a bell ringing. It's like they're being summoned upstairs and they're like, Oh, we have to go So yeah, that was really good. we'll be about, oh, 15, 20 minutes. Yeah, that sounds about right, which is, of course, the length of interval.
Speaker: So, yeah, then we came back and we did kind of race through yeah the rest of it. It's quite condensed. This is where we meet Mr. Bennett for the first time in the second half.
Speaker: Meet in inverted commas. Fantastic. Loved this. This was just spot on. And I think it really appealed to both of us as Mr. Bennett truthers. It's basically an armchair that you only ever see the back of.
Speaker: And it's got like a newspaper suspended as if there's a person sitting silently in the chair, reading the newspaper. And then at one point, one of the servants like,
Speaker: lights a pipe. there's like smoke coming out from behind the chair. And every time someone addresses him, there's just dead silence. Funnily enough as well, Mrs. Bennett starts getting really annoyed with him about the fact that he's not looking after his girls and helping them get married. So of that thematic stuff was right there, which is great. And at one point, Lizzie like thanks him for his support. And it's just silence. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, so kind of we kind of crack through the rest of it. Mrs. Gardner comes for Christmas and then she's leaving and she takes Jane. i did really like the time change on that one.
Speaker: Jane writes to Lizzie and she's like, oh, our Aunt Gardner is going, you know, to the Lakes District. You should go with her. She's going in three months. And she's like, oh, that's far too fast. And then it's just like some like wibbly wobbly music and some stuff gets thrown around. And she's like, oh, oh, that went much faster than I thought. Right.
Speaker: Yes. But yes, that whole scene with Lizzie and Jane writing letters to each other, at that point, Mrs Gardner encourages Lizzie to change locations and try and repair her relationship with Charlotte.
Speaker: And yes Lizzie looks like she's being held captive at Huntsford. way Mr. Collins and Charlotte are just standing over her the entire time. Jane's up on the staircase looking sad and then Lizzie looks like she needs to be rescued for most of it.
Speaker: I did enjoy the letters from Jane where she's like, I've written to Caroline 10 times and she hasn't said anything. I think I'll write one more time. So I wrote to Caroline one more time and she still didn't answer. So I just turned up on her doorstep. hu Yes.
Speaker: Oh, but maybe she's been calling me when I've been out. So I've just decided never to leave the house and stand by the front door. I spoke to Caroline and she confirmed what I thought. All of my letters got lost in the post. And just watching Jane get slowly more and more deranged throughout those letters. Fantastic.
Speaker: And then, of course, Huntsford, Lizzie's hiding in the closet for some alone time. And then it cuts back to her. Mr. Collins has found her in the closet and explaining the shelves to her And then, of course, they get invited to Rosings Park. And I figured out the joke. The Lady in Red. yeah.
Speaker: Okay. I didn't clock it the first time around, but I was reading a review of the Australian stage production. And the guy who sings Lady in Red, know how she says, you should sing this song, my nephew wrote it. His name is Chris DeBerg.
Speaker: Oh, no way. So yes, Lizzie stands there and sings The Lady in Red as her like piano recital when Darcy comes in all that state to hear her. So that's so funny.
Speaker: So yes, that is the joke. It is actually funny. Right. Okay. Again, our working knowledge of 80s hits, not quite on point enough to get every joke in this. No,
Speaker: So I thought that was quite good. The same actress who plays Jane plays Lady Catherine. She's fabulous. I did love the way that Lady Catherine, not dressed in Regency at all. She's dressed like a pre-revolutionary France.
Speaker: with the massive crinoline, this huge dress, and it's got like the scalloping and the ribbons. And yeah. It's very OTT. It's perfect, I guess. And then it gets like, this is one of the parts where it gets really quick.
Speaker: So yes. Well, we're in the second act at this point and yeah we haven't had the first proposal. Yeah. Yeah. So we get the first proposal. That was, so Lizzie sits down to read the letter from Mr. Darcy and the actor playing Mr. Darcy is on the stairs behind her and it cuts to like him reading the letter But after he says like two sentences, she screws it up into a ball and throws it away. And he just kind of goes, oh, and the light cuts off and he disappears.
Speaker: But this is where the servants come into play. Yes. how they help the great romantic heroes is because the servant goes around in the background, picks up the letter, smooths it back out and puts it back in Lizzie's lap. So she has to read it. So then Spotlight comes back on. Mr. Darcy starts reciting. It's a story we're all very familiar with. That's fine.
Speaker: Oh, that's one bit we missed from the beginning where they kind of set up Darcy getting the wrong idea from Jane because he makes a comment to Jane about Bingley and she's like, oh, don't know what you're talking about. He's like, not even my type and just rushes off.
Speaker: Yes, because she's drunk, just met him and is trying not to seem too forward. And that's immediately why Darcy gets the wrong impression, which, yeah, chef's kiss. As soon as I heard that, I was like, oh, there's the shorthand. Perfect.
Speaker: Yeah, they did that really well and sort of like modernized it. So yeah, we get that. We get the letter. Before you move on the song for the proposal, because there is a song for the proposal, is i think I love you. what am I so afraid of? This was one of my I was cackling. And he gets down on one knee and the servants in the background are playing the piano.
Speaker: one of them has a kazoo. Can I just say that? such Mr Darcy's first proposal has ever had a kazoo in it. nearly went and found a kazoo for this episode because I kind of just wanted to blow the kazoo randomly, but no, that required too much effort.
Speaker: And then is this the one where Jane also, the actress who plays Jane, was carrying the tambourine? It was this, right? They come out with the piano and you're like, right, okay, we've got the piano backing. So one of the actors is playing the piano and then...
Speaker: The other two just seem like they're going to be backup singers. And then next minute, one of them whips out a tambourine. it is like really overactively smiling and like smashing it in Lizzie's direction. And then next minute, the kazoo comes out and then Lizzie says no.
Speaker: and Darcy looks at the three servants and they just kind of like shrug and he's like, it's okay, we never saw anything. And they walk off. We weren't here. And they just kind of like wheel the piano away and run off the side of the stage.
Speaker: Fantastic. So, yeah, we get the letter... It's pretty much what we know already. But then I'm trying to remember. This bit gets a little bit hazy because it all went really quickly.
Speaker: Then it's like she's all sad about it. And then and then she's on holidays with Aunt Gardner. There's no Mr. Gardner in this. No. And then they're at Pemberley. Aunt Gardner's just like, we should go and see the house. And Lizzie's like, this doesn't look like the Peaks.
Speaker: And she's like, no, we're just here because, you know. And they go into the house and the actor who plays Mr. Darcy is behind a photo frame. Oh, yes. And Art Gardner does the classic. I don't know. I've never seen the original Lizzie. And she's like, oh yeah, I guess I guess it looks like him. And then Art Gardner and the housekeeper leave. And then the portrait proceeds to follow Lizzie around the room. yeah just every time she turns around the portrait's there and it's very funny and then they make like a slapstick out of the servant who is holding the photo frame because obviously holding things up is quite heavy they have to like stop at one point she's like shaking her arms out like rubbing her muscles and she's like all right hu and like locks in to hold it up again and then this whole section ends with Darcy jumping out of the frame and the housekeeper walks back in and says oh Mr Darcy you're here a day early why aren't you wet
Speaker: yeah You're very dry, Shouldn't you be wet? Obviously very on the nose reference, which was perfect for the 1995 lake scene. And it just goes on for a couple of minutes. Just going.
Speaker: Do you feel overwhelmed and want to go for it to like a dip in the lake? promise it'll be very sexy. It just goes and goes and goes. And the whole time Lizzie's just standing there. And it was very funny because next to me someone turned around very loudly and said, that's a reference to the movie. And it took all of my thing to be like, no, it is not the movie. It's the 90-95 TV series.
Speaker: The other fun part about this was that the gathering at Pemberley, which is, you know, normally Georgiana with tea and all of that, there is no Georgiana in this, but they turned around said, oh, yes, we're having an evening soiree with 525 people. I was like, that is weirdly specific. Clearly the capacity of the audience.
Speaker: yeah Darcy then starts talking to the audience as if everyone's been here the whole time you're having a good time and a disco ball drops from the ceiling and it's all very fancy and it's it's Darcy being like kind and like sociable and you know completely different to how Lizzie's seen him before and he's being so nice to the audience that's one of the the really good fourth wall breaking moments yes that was great 525 of our closest friends. Look, hey, I don't mind being called Darcy's closest friend. It's true.
Speaker: So Lizzie gets back. Lizzie gets back to Longbourn and we have the the very condensed Lydia storyline just coming from one beat to the next. We're ruined. Oh, she's married. And then everything's going along semi-normally and then all the lights cut out. There's a thunderclap and Lady Catherine just standing in the middle of the lounge room.
Speaker: ah So good. And Lizzie's like, where did you come from? How did you get into my house? And then they do like the back and forth and that's all very fun. you know, talking about Anne. Anne is another joke she's talked about, but she's never there.
Speaker: And then there's like the lights black out. There's another thunder clap and Lady Catherine just disappears. Yeah, she's gone. I can't even remember how it gets to the point where Charles is. It's very quick, but Bingley ends up running through the audience to like, yes, see Jane.
Speaker: i feel like, did Darcy turn up first? I feel like Darcy turns up first. Yeah, and says something to Lizzie. And then, well, what about Charles? And then like...
Speaker: He comes like running through the crowd. And he runs across the front row, like shaking everyone's hand and giving oh everyone high fives before he gets up on the stage. Very cute. And then, yeah, they declare their love for each other. And then they go back up the stairs and watch while Lizzie and Darcy declare their a love for each other too. Yes.
Speaker: And then everyone evacuates the stage and Mary comes on. The servants kind of like come back as themselves. That's right, And they're talking the audience. And they're like, we're missing the little one.
Speaker: Where is she? That's the joke because the actress who plays Mary and Mr. Collins and Lydia is the tallest. cast member. We're missing the little one. They all leave the stage and she comes out from under the cupboard under the stairs.
Speaker: Dressed in her merry outfit, yeah grabs the yokey machine and basically encourages the crowd to get her to sing. And then they close the show with young hearts. And then of course the joke is she's an excellent singer. Yes, of course she is. Of course she is. But in our session, someone a couple of rows away from us whispered very loudly, oh my God, she's going to sing.
Speaker: Right before she started singing. and the whole audience just lost it. And I think what's hilarious is about four seconds before I went over to Steph and said, she's going to sing.
Speaker: You said it actually quietly. oh no. Did everyone hear me? And no, it was someone else. It was a fun one to end on. I might always think of Romeo and Juliet from the nineties, but it was a great one to finish on.
Speaker: Right. So in terms of like character analysis, how do you feel about like the majority of the characterizations? We've already sort of talked about like Caroline and Mr. Bingley being pretty spot on, but like much more egregious and funny. Yes, very broad.
Speaker: Now you had some interesting thoughts on Wickham at the end in particular. Yes. So Wickham as a character, we only see him on stage maybe twice, maybe three times. It's not very often. He comes out to Smooth Operator, which again, chef's kiss, walks down the stairs and we have that whole scene where He and Lizzie are talking like the rebels out the back of the party and leaves. But then towards the end, he comes back in and Lydia and him are married. So they do actually walk back in and go, oh, look, we're married as part of that. Like, oh, she's missing. Oh, she's married gag. They walk in and Wickham is crying the whole time.
Speaker: Yeah. Just over the top fake stage crying the whole time and walks in and gets sandwiched between Lydia on one side and Mrs. Bennett on the other, who like is very clearly trying to like play with his uniform and stuff. So it's creepy, but he's just sitting in the middle crying the whole time. Now, obviously I'm guessing that is a reference to the fact that he is, you know, forced into the marriage by Darcy, like he's paid off.
Speaker: It's very clear, i think in all versions, he doesn't actually plan to get married. He's still trying to make his fortune through marriage and Lydia's not going to be the one that provides that. I just found it really an odd choice, particularly because in Darcy's letter, it says that he kidnapped Georgiana to force her to marry him.
Speaker: i just found it really weird that the guy who was supposed to be the villain or super cold-hearted was just pathetic. Now, again, we all know he's pathetic. So again, like the other characters playing it up, maybe i think that's what they were going for. It just felt really odd to me when I was watching it. Like we all want Wickham to get his comeuppance, right? And there was a very funny part earlier on, which we forgot to mention, but at the Netherfield Ball, while everything's going on in the chaos, Lydia says she's going to go out and play with the soldiers and, oh, one of the soldiers will give me their gun. Lydia skips off stage. And then as the Netherfield ball is sort of, the chaos is starting to happen, someone yells out, Lydia's got a gun. And then all of a sudden the gun starts firing and Lydia is just cackling off stage. So I felt certain if Lydia has a gun in this production and has been shown how to use one,
Speaker: Lydia is going to shoot Wickham to get out of the wedding. Or at least, even if not to necessarily get out of the wedding, even just like we all want to see Wickham get his comeuppance, right? Yeah. felt for certain Lydia was going to shoot him.
Speaker: And he'd be like limping or like just get shot in the leg or something. Yeah. You know, you could do shot in the leg, you could do killed. There was a wide spectrum there that you could go down. But I felt sure that there was going be something. No, it's just completely the next time we see Wickham, he is crying and then gets dragged off stage by Lydia because we're going to Newcastle.
Speaker: So yeah. Yeah. It was odd. It felt like a weird choice, but again, i can see how it worked. Yeah. And it's it's very, you know, arrogant of me to say that's not how I would have done it because it is very arrogant of me to say that.
Speaker: I don't know. It just, it didn't quite feel right to me. It's a very modern take on the character, i think. And I feel like it's an almost...
Speaker: People kind of view it as that modern way of him getting his comeuppance instead of him still being, as he is in the original, scheming and trying to get people on his side and feel sorry for him and all that sort of thing. His comeuppance is he realises he's trapped now and there's nothing that he can do.
Speaker: and it does make sense. You know, none of us like him, so seeing him reduced to what he was going to force Georgiana to do does make sense. It just felt like an odd choice.
Speaker: But that's because I was expecting Lydia to shoot him. So I don't know what that says about me. You did lean over it to me at one point. You're like... Wickham's going to get killed, isn't he? and I was like, at this point, i don't know. Who knows? Anything could happen.
Speaker: So at this point, I want to switch the discussion to Charlotte. and Yes. And again, the review, which I will link, that I read about the Australian one. There was this reviewer and they raved about – this aspect of the character we're about to discuss, adding like depth and pathos to the play, you know, adding things that Charlotte's character lacks in the original.
Speaker: And yes immediately my hackles went up because just, I feel like this person has fundamentally misunderstood the purpose of Charlotte in the original and what her character is for. She doesn't lack depth or pathos in the original. Like we're both on the record as Charlotte stands, but she's such an important part of the story to show that there is flip side to the marriage market in Regency. And to a certain extent, Lizzie, as much as we love her, is being completely unreasonable in her approach to marriage.
Speaker: And Charlotte shows the necessity and also the danger of what can happen to an unmarried woman in the same way Mrs Bates in Emma functions in that way. Yes. Slightly more tragically, of course. So what am I talking about?
Speaker: Charlotte is portrayed as a lesbian who is in love with Elizabeth. And I didn't love it. I don't have a problem with her being gay in any way, shape or form.
Speaker: I just feel like it's strayed. It's strayed too far into the trope that's called bury your gays. And basically what that is is that in mainstream media, not only do queer characters more often die, but when they don't die, they have really immense personal tragedies.
Speaker: Either their lover dies or they're in love with someone who will never love them back and their lives always end in this drudgery and this sadness that like things happen to them that don't happen to straight characters.
Speaker: So they yeah just end up with these awful endings in stories. And that really hit me in the way that they portrayed she was so downtrodden and so quiet and so...
Speaker: like just beaten down by the whole situation of her life. And then she marries Mr. Collins and it's even worse. And she's just so sad all the time. And she sits in a dark room because he sits in the front room with all of the light. So her life is like dark.
Speaker: She's so sad. And she speaks in a monotone, unless of course she's speaking to Elizabeth. And it just... really irritated me actually because I cannot stand adaptations. You can correct me in a minute. I cannot stand adaptations that make her life seem sad and pointless.
Speaker: That's my rant. think this is a very personal gripe that I have. I am very protective of Charlotte. I'm not planning on correcting you. Let's put it that way. i I didn't hate it, i think, as much as you did. um it did make her life very sad, which I wasn't a massive fan of.
Speaker: I thought it was a different take, though, and it was a more modern lens. We keep saying it's more modern take and, hey, this has been modernized. Obviously being gay isn't more modern. That's not what I'm trying to say, but you know, an unrequited love story where Charlotte realizes that practically she has to get married in order to economically survive.
Speaker: kind of made sense. And there is this whole scene when they're at Hunsford where Lizzie is talking about, she's talking about falling in love, but I don't think she's talking about falling in love with Darcy yet. I think it's just maybe Jane. i can't remember the context exactly, but she's like, you know, you should just tell people how you feel. And Charlotte in the background slowly gets the smile on her face, gets happier, blah, blah, blah, bla blah stands up to say something. And then Lizzie, of course, cuts her off and starts talking about something else.
Speaker: And Charlotte just goes back into her facade that you were talking about where she's just monotone. on a tone i mean, I can definitely see why you felt that way. I didn't have necessarily strong feelings about it either way. it was just a different take. But she was very monotone.
Speaker: She is dressed in grey. She actually has a much longer costume than everyone else, which is interesting as well. It does kind of cover up that servant attire that's underneath. A lot of the other costumes are very colourful and are like half costumes, so a shorter dress or a jacket or whatever. But, yeah, with Charlotte it's very much everything is covered.
Speaker: Yeah. I think there was a way to make her a queer character who was in love with Elizabeth that just didn't make her so pathetic. And I would have loved to have seen that.
Speaker: Yeah, completely agree. I just wonder if given we've been saying how every character is really heightened in this production. And it's interesting that, you know, Bingley is dumb. Caroline is a rich snob and the amplification of Charlotte's character is boring.
Speaker: Yeah. I feel like there could have been a really fun way to amplify because what she does with Collins, let's face it it's quite cutthroat. She sees an opportunity and she takes it.
Speaker: And I would have loved to have seen that played up instead. Yeah, fair enough. That makes sense. It is also funny because in this version of the story, he proposes to Lizzie in the morning and Charlotte in the afternoon and then the Netherfield bowl is that night. So it's just like a bang, bang, bang. Yeah. And so like the morning after the ball, Mrs. Bennett's being particularly gross and still trying to get Lizzie to agree to marry Mr. Collins. And she's like, it's too late.
Speaker: The other the only other thing I had like a mild complaint about, like I think Darcy's fine. Again, they really ramp up like the posh and everything. i actually Darcy really difficult in this production? yeah I'm not sure I can completely articulate why. They do definitely play up the stuffiness and the awkward staring. I feel like every time he and Lizzie made eye contact at the start, was that when Careless Whisper started playing?
Speaker: I think so, yeah, yeah. do Very funny. do That instrumental part that everyone knows. I think what I struggled with with Darcy was the turn. So yeah great at being stuffy and everything. And we got those over the top stares across at Elizabeth, particularly in that bit where Caroline was using physical humor to try and get his attention. He was staring at Lizzie the whole time. So obviously it communicated really clearly the fact that he liked Lizzie, but the turn for me, just, I don't think he ever was not stuffy.
Speaker: And again, I think it was that Austin fans are going to be doing a little bit of the heavy lifting here to, oh yeah, he's a nicer guy. He was kind of acting like Jay Gatsby at the pemberley at the Pemberley get together. It was like, oh, hello. Would you like a glass of wine? Like it was very, and again, fine. It's a stage production where everything is being lampooned in good humor. So again, it makes sense.
Speaker: But yeah, that turn at the end, I was like, ah, he kind of just feels the same to me. But yeah, there's nothing ground groundbreaking done with his lampooning because no you can't. No, I feel like the funniest things that happened with Darcy were things that other people did to him. Yes.
Speaker: The portrait. Why is he wet? Bingley singing over his shoulder, all those sorts of things. Like the funniest things were done to him. And I guess that's kind of a, it kind of leads from the book, right? Because you don't really get like a sense of him in the book. no What we know about him is really fleshed out from like the shows and the movies and stuff like that, um ah which we've talked about before. We're not going to sort of go into ad nauseum here again.
Speaker: It's interesting you struggle with Darcy. I kind of struggled with Elizabeth. I think she falls into a fairly similar boat. Yeah. She he just has to be, and maybe this is the curse of them being the two main romantic leads. You kind of had to have the straight person, and I mean straight as in humour straight, person in the middle of... yeah Yeah, playing it straight in the middle of the chaos. I think if you had too many people being chaotic, it would have fallen apart very quickly. But yes, Lizzie is just a snappy, cool girl who stands with Wickham at the bin, who... Tells Mr. Collins to F off. Oh, and Lady Catherine as well. Both of them are very funny. Strategic F-bombs in those, quite funny.
Speaker: So, you know, it made sense. Also, i think as well, being an English production, as in it was originated in the UK, it's very English humour. And I feel like Lizzie is just the main, if it was a rom-com in England, Lizzie would be the main character and she is just playing the rom-com lead. Like Bridget Jones, but without the cringy. And that actor also only plays Elizabeth.
Speaker: Yes. The actor plays the servant and Elizabeth and no one else. Because even because Mr. Darcy's actor also plays Mrs. Bennet. Very funny combination. I know deep down, obviously, that actors who play different characters and the ones they play are just the ones that don't appear on the screen at the same time. But I did find it deeply funny that Mr. Darcy was also playing Mrs. Bennet.
Speaker: Yes. And that Charles and Caroline Bingley were also played by the same person. yeah Yes. And I did love that after Mrs. Bennet has met both of them, she's like – can you believe they're brother and sister? And Emma's like, oh yeah, they're so different. She's like, yeah, they look nothing alike. Yeah.
Speaker: Bring attention to it. It's hilarious. Go for it. Yeah. So I think I struggled a bit with Lizzie just because, like you say, with being the main romantic linchpin, it's very difficult to do anything and they did heighten her sassiness and there was that moment when they were at Rosings where she came very close to like screeching at him about Wickham but Charlotte cut him off and then that's when she swaps into what she traditionally says to Colonel Fitzwilliam who is also not in this when she says to Colonel Fitzwilliam oh you know I could tell you shocking things about Mr Darcy he was in an assembly where more than one woman was in want of a partner and he refused to stand up with anyone yes that's right
Speaker: She uses that as like a cover story where she's like, he wouldn't do it with me. Yeah. Yeah. So I think they did try, i think, to make her a little bit more ridiculous and sort of poke at her prejudice a bit, but it didn't really stick. But in the overall production, it's such a minor thing because the rest of the chaos around them, to your point, you need an anchor in the utter chaos that is happening around And that's a great point to give our rating. Yay! So for me, I really loved this show. I thought it was fantastic. um So for me, it's Austin approved.
Speaker: It was packed with references for the loyal fans, but it's still really accessible for those who are only lightly familiar with the story or even potentially not familiar with it at all. There's all the physical comedy and the singing.
Speaker: i was a little worried about the modernized language grating with this because we have seen other adaptations, Cough, Persuasion on Netflix, Cough, where the modern language is horrendous and really jarring, but I didn't have that.
Speaker: From this, I thought it flowed really nicely. it was super entertaining. And it does show that the writer of the script or the stage production does have a really strong understanding of the characters, their motivations, the time period, and Austen in general. So...
Speaker: Yeah, I really loved it. Yeah, me too. I co-sign everything completely. It's Austin approved for me as well. What I'd be really intrigued with this, because like Stephanie said at the start, is it is an English show that has toured around the yeah UK. The fact that Australia seems to be its first international stop, or seems to be at least, because there a lot of English or British and Australian humour is very similar.
Speaker: Listening to a lot of the actors talking You're like, oh, I could see this happening out the back of a pub in Australia. I could see this happening, you know. i would be fascinated to see how that translates. And the fact that we found this show hilarious, I would be fascinated to see how that humour would translate into another setting.
Speaker: Yes. Like just into country. an American setting. American setting, any other country really. Yeah. my i I would just be really intrigued to see where it goes next. It was great. I loved it. I had a great time.
Speaker: And the the karaoke was great. When I heard karaoke, I was like, oh what it what are we in for here? But the fact that every now and again, the characters would actually have to stop. And every time they had to press play on the karaoke machine, which also sent me. Like it was a play that then had little bits of music.
Speaker: scattered throughout and every time they had to stop and hit play was just so good it was great I still wouldn't classify this as a musical by the way if you're a musical hater I wouldn't classify this as a musical on any level it's a it's a stage production with songs We hope you enjoyed this episode of Jane Austen Remixed. We love exploring this wonderful corner of the literary world with you.
Speaker: Please share the podcast with your friends, family, literary fans, and other Janeites. And we would love it if you could leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you are listening. This helps us to reach other fans of Pride and Prejudice and build our community.
Speaker: You can also follow us on Instagram at Jane Austen Remixed. And if you have a question or a suggestion for a book, movie, or something you'd like us to review, drop us a line. You can email us at janeaustenremixed at gmail.com.
Speaker: And this is actually the last episode. of the season. We will do a wrap-up episode, but like I said, i will have a newborn soon, so we may need a little bit of grace on that one. And I also know that I owe you guys a and mini-sode about the follow-up to Shadow of Anubis. I haven't forgotten that, and it will be coming out.
Speaker: We'll let you know when. Just be sure to follow us on Instagram and you'll be kept in the loop. Stephanie, I already know the answer having seen the show, but the most important question of our podcast, does this Darcy dive into a lake?
Speaker: Sadly, no. And as much as I would have loved to have seen them dung him in a fish tank or some other small body of water on stage, sadly, no, he remains quite dry.
Speaker: So on that note, we might see you next episode or we might see you next season.
