Thursday 18 July 2013

Day 199 : it's a truth universally acknowledged...

Tonight we’re entertaining clients at Regent’s Park Open-Air Theatre at a fabulous production of Pride and Prejudice. I've been a massive fan of Jane Austen’s work since I first read the book and have since reread it many times, repeatedly viewed the original 1980 BBC serial and the more recent 1995 adapted by Andrew Davies version (where infamously Colin Firth as Darcy arises from a lake in the grounds of Pemberley dripping wet). I’ve seen the awful 1940 film with the entirely fictitious ending, ’all’ the daughters marry! Really? And the rather rushed Keira Knightly film with Matthew Macfadyen in a dreadful wig. But I've never seen it live.

This Simon Reade production is like an elaborate dance on a very minimalistic set. It has all Jane Austen’s humorous moments turned up to eleven and the audience all seemed to appreciate that.

Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy kissed Elizabeth moments after proposing, proper racy, and the “ooh” exclaimed by the audience was probably due to the knowledge of the entire lack of lip locking in an Austen book.

I know you're not supposed to photograph so I at least waited until they took their bows.

 

No comments:

Post a Comment