Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) at Richmond Theatre

I go to most things at Richmond Theatre so I booked to see Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) despite misgiving that it might be a lightweight farce, which the poster rather suggests, and I took advantage of my ATG Card to book my usual seat, Dress Circle A25, for £28. 

At that price I can afford to make mistakes.

This was not a mistake, far from it. I'll try and explain why, but first the basics. 

This is the Pride and Prejudice story set historically but with a few modern updates, like some swearing and a packet of Frosties, and the story is told by five young actresses who play all the parts wearing distinctive outfits for each role. 

There is also some music thrown in but this is not a musical and the songs are there to emphasise some of the more dramatic moment.

Finally it is absolutely packed with humour. A lot of this comes from the acting with, for example, exaggerated expressions, and some from the staging, such as one of the Bennet daughters grabbing the whole tray of drinks when offered just one. There are just very small examples and the play is ridiculously rich in little humours things so I was always smiling or laughing.

Well, that is not quite true, as Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) also played the romantic moments very well and while Big Boy's Don't Cry, I almost did.

The show was brilliantly crafted. The script kept to the well known story and a lot of the original dialogue while enriching it with many little details as well as one additional love story. The staging was clever with frequent costume and prop changes all completed smoothly. Making it all work was the truly superb cast and it is a scandal that I cannot tell you who they are, the in-theatre publicity did not give their names and the production's website, https://prideandprejudicesortof.com/cast-creatives, shows a touring cast of seven and I am not certain which five were on stage. That said, Dannie Harris was my stand-out, in a very close contest, with her portrayal of both Mrs Bennet and Mr Darcy.

Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) was an exceptional show and one of the best that I have ever seen. I enjoyed it so much that I quickly booked to see it again on Saturday.