Pride And Prejudice (Sort Of) is a fun, modern comedy version of one of the most loved books of all time. For any Jane Austen fans, it’s a must-see. Here’s my Pride And Prejudice (Sort Of) Theatre Review.
Overview of Pride and Prejudice (Sort Of)
Pride and Prejudice (Sort Of) is a modern take on the popular book, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I’ve loved this book since I first read it as a teenager. And I’m always keen to see new adaptations of the famous story. My Pride and Prejudice (Sort Of) theatre review is really positive – in part just because of how much I love the book!
For anyone who isn’t familiar with Pride and Prejudice, it’s set in 1800s Britain and follows the story of five sisters as they try to find husbands. It follows the ups and downs of their search for love, in a world where marrying well was the most important career a woman could have.
Pride and Prejudice (Sort Of) is performed by five female actors. These five perform as all of the characters – including the men. The changes of characters are shown by a quick costume change, so it’s clear which character they now are.
Pride and Prejudice (Sort Of) is a fun, comedy version. Although it follows the story quite closely, it puts its own modern interpretation on the events in the books. There are a couple of notable changes, for example the hint that Charlotte Lucas fancies Elizabeth. That definitely wasn’t in the book, but I could kind of see that working! There are also some songs in this production, where the cast members grab a microphone and sing versions of some popular songs, such as ‘holding out for a hero’ (sung by the sisters) and ‘you’re so vain’ (sung at Mr Darcy of course).
Check out when it’s next on near you here.
What I liked about Pride And Prejudice (Sort Of)
I really enjoyed this show, and was smiling throughout. The style of comedy was light-hearted and slightly silly, but funny. If anyone has watched the UK TV sitcom ‘Miranda’, it felt like a similar style of comedy. There were people falling over, Mr Bingley got his hand stuck in a Pringles tube at one point, Mr Collins was just hilariously ridiculous, and somehow wheeling Lady Catherine off stage was really funny. All of the audience found it funny and were laughing along.
I also liked how it was performed just by five women. The book is all about five sisters, so it felt fitting. I felt like only have female actors really supported the feminist ideas in the book. Although the storyline is mostly about marriage, I feel like Pride and Prejudice does have some feminist themes, as the girls are independent and striving to find their perfect match. I think Jane Austen, a female writer herself at a time when it was frowned upon for women to earn their own money, would have enjoyed that her book was being performed by only women.
What I wasn’t so sure about
Pride and Prejudice (Sort Of) advertises itself as a musical, but I felt like it could have been more of a musical. There were a few songs. But it definitely felt more like a play with a few songs rather than a musical. I love musicals, so I was looking forward to seeing a musical version of Pride and Prejudice. So I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t more of a musical. There were hardly any original songs either. I enjoyed the songs they did, but felt like they could have done more with the musical side.
I also felt like you needed to know the storyline of Pride and Prejudice to fully appreciate the show. It felt like they were targetting Pride and Prejudice fans, rather than trying to introduce new people to the story. I think that if you didn’t know the story well, you’d have got a bit lost and missed a lot of the jokes. There’s nothing bad about targetting fans rather than a new audience, but I think they could have done more to make the plot more accessible to people in the audience who weren’t so familiar with it.
Would I recommend Pride And Prejudice (Sort Of)
My Pride and Prejudice (Sort Of) theatre review is really positive. I definitely recommend going to see it. If you love the book or film of Pride and Prejudice, I think you’ll enjoy this modern take on the classic story. It’s really funny, and everyone was smiling and laughing throughout. So I definitely recommend going to see it!