The only thing more fun than going to see P&P at the theatre is going to see P&P with three friends who are as big fans of the novel as I am. So, you might ask, you had fun no matter what, but how was the play? It was good and bad.

First the good. Pierre Brault was lovely as always. I’ve seen him in dramatic monologue, as Shakespeare’s drunk and doing stand up comedy and he was good every time. I don’t know whether it is a good thing that the best performance was done by the actor playing Mr. Collins, but his dance at the Netherfield ball was hilarious.

Another thing I liked was the writing. Particularly in the first act, the ratio of original language was higher than any other adaptation I have seen while still making sense and imparting all the information in good time. A few creative storytelling tricks surprised and impressed me. However, the writer seemed to have run out of steam towards the end and the second act was much sloppier, contained a few scenes that were too long and the last 15 minutes were positively rushed. The non-original dialogue also appeared more often, was longer and more cringe-worthy. So writing was excellent except when it was not.

As soon as the play was over, the four of us started taking it apart and talking about what we liked and did not like. There were a few decisions that were made that would make Austenites grumble but would not be noticed or ruin the play for anyone else. Charlotte’s betrayal, Elizabeth’s calmness after she first turns Darcy down, Elizabeth’s inaction when Mr. Bennet ousts Lydia from the family home and few other choices made me cringe, but are not necessarily bad in and of themselves. I have a particular way of interpreting the novel and interpretations that clash with my own will grate me without necessarily being grating in general.

What was grating in general was the utterly abominable level of acting. The actresses playing Elizabeth, Mrs. Gardiner and Mrs. Reynolds were the worst offenders though a few others were also poor. Many of the actors stood straight backed and shouted their lines at the audience. Elizabeth’s voice was particularly shrill and combining with her back-brace like posture (perhaps she was pretending to wear a corset?) and lack of any intonation in line execution were such that by the end of the play I felt particular dislike towards her. Watching Pride and Prejudice while disliking Lizzy is Not Good. This level of acting would have been fine at a high school play or community theatre, but when I pay over $70 to sit at the back of one of the largest theatre spaces in town I expect professional skill. Fortunately, along with the aforementioned Mr. Collins, actors portraying Darcy, Bingley and Mary were enjoyable and somewhat balanced the atrocity.

It is too bad about the line shouting and sloppy script toward the end because it was a quite nice play otherwise. I am not sure whether to recommend it or not. There were moments where I was quite enjoying myself and then there were moments when I was cringing. I suppose you just have to go and make up your own mind. Apparently the show is so popular they added extra performances.