Surrey

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that the British public cannot get enough of Jane Austen&#8217;s classic love story Pride and Prejudice. 



And from Thurs 13 February, the newest retelling of this quintessential English romcom returns to the Holy Trinity Church in Guildford with just three actors taking on 16 characters between them. It&#8217;s first run was in February 2024.



If that sounds a bit nuts, that because it is. But it&#8217;s a joy to behold: witty, clever, creative and loads of fun. Jane Austen herself would have been delighted with the spectacle.



Adapted and directed by Abigail Pickard Price, associate director of The Watermill Theatre in Newbury, Berks, this production of &#8216;Pride and Prejudice&#8217; stays close to Austen&#8217;s original novel.



The story is set in Regency-era England and revolves around the Bennet family: Mr and Mrs, plus their five daughters.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-Company-l-r-Sarah-Gobran-Luke-Barton-April-Hughes.-Photo-Mark-Dean.jpg" alt="Guildford Shakespeare Company's production of Pride and Prejudice starring Sarah Gobran, Luke Barton and April Hughes." class="wp-image-52040" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-Company-l-r-Sarah-Gobran-Luke-Barton-April-Hughes.-Photo-Mark-Dean.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-Company-l-r-Sarah-Gobran-Luke-Barton-April-Hughes.-Photo-Mark-Dean-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-Company-l-r-Sarah-Gobran-Luke-Barton-April-Hughes.-Photo-Mark-Dean-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-Company-l-r-Sarah-Gobran-Luke-Barton-April-Hughes.-Photo-Mark-Dean-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-Company-l-r-Sarah-Gobran-Luke-Barton-April-Hughes.-Photo-Mark-Dean-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">All images: Mark Dean</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-people">The people</h2>



Luke Barton and Sarah Gobran are marvellous as Mr and Mrs Bennet. He is the calm, almost brusque family patriarch. And she, delightfully the opposite: fanciful, dramatic and desperate to find husbands for her daughters. 



(Sarah, by the way, is co-founder of the <a href="https://www.guildford-shakespeare-company.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Guildford Shakespeare Company</a> which in 2024 celebrated its 18th birthday &#8211; hence the choice of Pride and Prejudice, Austen&#8217;s coming-of-age story which was 2024&#8217;s first show.)



April Hughes is a delightful Lizzy Bennet &#8211; her sass and spirit tempered by a sweet-natured charm and understated wit. Her asides to the audience are on point, and her narration keeps things moving nicely.



The character swapping in such an epic tale could easily have been a disaster. But with clever styling and costumes &#8211; and, of course, brilliant acting &#8211; audiences are never left puzzled about who&#8217;s who.



Barton segues easily into Darcy with a swift and elegantly-choreographed change of jacket and a subtle change of demeanor and tone. Cool and aloof, dashing and debonair &#8211; he plays it convincingly.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-actors-Luke-Barton-April-Highes-Photo.-Mark-Dean.jpg" alt="Guildford Shakespeare Company's production of Pride and Prejudice starring Luke Barton and April Hughes." class="wp-image-52037" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-actors-Luke-Barton-April-Highes-Photo.-Mark-Dean.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-actors-Luke-Barton-April-Highes-Photo.-Mark-Dean-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-actors-Luke-Barton-April-Highes-Photo.-Mark-Dean-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-actors-Luke-Barton-April-Highes-Photo.-Mark-Dean-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-actors-Luke-Barton-April-Highes-Photo.-Mark-Dean-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



A redcoat jacket sees a quick transition to Mr Wickham, and a high-necked black cloak turns him into Mr Bennet&#8217;s cousin, Mr Collins. Barton has some fun with Collins, playing the clergyman with a clumsy campness that will make you smile. 



As Darcy&#8217;s housekeeper, Barton dons a white apron, lace cap and a credible northern accent. And despite his height (almost 6ft 3) he&#8217;s actually quite convincing, albeit with a little absurdity.



But it is as the regal Lady Catherine de Bourgh that Barton is a true scene-stealer, decked out in an elegant Regency gown with a shiny crown and perfectly rounded plum in his mouth. He commands the stage, looking down on Lizzy (quite literally) with haughty disdain. 



Sarah Gobran cycles between Mrs Bennet and her eldest daughter Jane, Charlotte Lucas, Mrs Gardiner and Caroline Bingley with masterly costume changes &#8211; an overcoat here, a ribbon or hat there. As well as Lizzy, April Hughes is Bingley &#8211; and all three play the remaining Bennet sisters: Lydia, Kitty and Mary. And somehow it all works.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-Sarah-Gobran-and-April-Hughes-as-Jane-and-Lizzy-Bennet.jpg" alt="Guildford Shakespeare Company's production of Pride and Prejudice starring Sarah Gobran, and April Hughes." class="wp-image-52038" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-Sarah-Gobran-and-April-Hughes-as-Jane-and-Lizzy-Bennet.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-Sarah-Gobran-and-April-Hughes-as-Jane-and-Lizzy-Bennet-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-Sarah-Gobran-and-April-Hughes-as-Jane-and-Lizzy-Bennet-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-Sarah-Gobran-and-April-Hughes-as-Jane-and-Lizzy-Bennet-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/02/GSC-Pride-Prejudice-Sarah-Gobran-and-April-Hughes-as-Jane-and-Lizzy-Bennet-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-places">The places</h2>



Guildford&#8217;s Holy Trinity Church is the backdrop for this immersive endeavour. The simple and yet impressive church interior creates an evocative scene &#8211; the high ceilings, arched windows, fresco domes and elaborate semi-circular apse. A small stage extends from the chancel, and the usual church pews have been replaced by bistro tables and chairs and rows of seating for the audience.



On stage, the set is simple with a table and chairs, coatstand and wardrobe (those costume have to go somewhere!). We move around the country estates &#8211; Pemberley in Cheshire, Netherfield and Longbourn in Hertfordshire, Rosings Park and the Hunsford Parsonage in Kent &#8211; thanks to paintings of each stately home propped up as a visual clue.



It didn&#8217;t take much imagination to picture a full-on society ball in this setting. And, of course, it couldn&#8217;t have been better for the final scene &#8211; when Mr Bennet walks Lizzy down the aisle. 



Which brings us to the romance. Because that along with the humour, is largely what makes Pride and Prejudice so well-loved.



The Guildford Shakespeare Company&#8217;s show captured that and more. It was a wonderful account&nbsp;of an era where manners and class rules mean so much. But finding a husband means even more.



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&#8216;<a href="https://www.guildford-shakespeare-company.co.uk/prideprejudice25/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pride and Pre</a><a style="font-weight: bold;font-style: italic" href="https://www.guildford-shakespeare-company.co.uk/prideprejudice/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">judice</a>&#8216; is at the Holy Trinity Church in Guildford from 13 Feb &#8211; 1 March 2025. <a href="https://www.guildford-shakespeare-company.co.uk/tickets/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">More info here.</a>

Review: ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by the Guildford Shakespeare Company

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