Lizzy, Darcy & Jane by Joanna Norland.
Directed by Alison Plevy.
Assistant director Jude Colquhoun. Choreographer Belynda Buck. Set design Kayla
Ciceran. Lighting design Nathan Sciberras. Sound design Neville Pye. Costume
design Eliza Gulley. Casrt: Lydia Milosavljevic. Dylan Kayley Rosenthal.
Sterling Notley. Marco Simunec. Rachel Hogan. Elaine Noon. Canberra Repertory
Society. Theatre 3. September 4-20 2025. Bookings: 62571950, canberrarep.org.au
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
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| Sterling Notley (Mr. Bingley), Lidia Milosavljenic (Jane) Elaine Noon (Mrs. Austen) Dylan Haley Rosenthal(Elizabeth Bennet) Rachel Hogan (Catherine de Bourgh) in Canberra Rep's production of Lizzy,Darcy and Jane) |
I daresay that those among us who
are enthusiastic devotees of the novels of Jane Austen and in particular Pride and Prejudice will enjoy Joanna
Norland’s quirky conceit, Lizzy, Darcy & Jane. Norland imagines a scenario where the revered author finds
herself embroiled in the world of her familiar much loved characters. When Austen’s
private life fuses with true fiction, Jane (Lidia Milosavljevic) must invent a
heroine to help her resolve her anguished love for Tom Lefroy (Marco Simunec).
In Elizabeth Bennet (Dylan Hayley Rosenthal) we find a feisty heroine as able
to match wits with her author, and yet still subject to her author’s whim.
Austen still holds the upper hand in a contest of wit and wile, able to banish
Elizabeth to an unfortunate marriage to Mr Collins (Sterling Notley) while she
herself must bear the pain of love’s fickle fate.
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| Lidia Milosavljevic (Jane) and Dylan Hayley Rosenthal (Lizzy) |
Playwright Norland skillfully avoids yet another revival of an Austen adaptation but instead offers an intriguing and original insight into both the characters of Pride and Prejudice and also Austen’s vulnerability in matters of the heart. Lizzy, Darcy & Jane is true to the period and much of the dialogue will be instantly recognizable to an audience member intimately familiar with the literary work. Director Alison Plevy has wisely chosen to keep the play within the Regency setting with Kayla Ciceran’s modest set design, Nathan Sciberras’s simple lighting and sound designer Neville Pye’s introductory baroque music. Eliza Gulley’s costumes intimate the period and Belynda Buck’s choreography laces the dance with a touch of humour to mock the formality of the scene.
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| Elaine Noon (Mrs. Austen) Lidia Milosavljenic (Jane) |
The fashion of the time can challenge a far more experienced cast, and especially if some are required to play more than the one character. It is necessary that each character be deftly drawn. It is perhaps why Milosavljevic’s Jane and Rosenthal’s Elizabeth appeared to be more fully drawn without having to change character. On the other hand Sterling appeared to seamlessly move from the fictional characters of the wealthy Mr. Bingley to the idiotic Reverend Collins to Jane Austen’s unfortunate real-life suitor Harris Bigg-Wither (1781-1833) with consummate conviction. Simunec was less successful in capturing the aloof Darcy but seemed more at ease with his portrayal of the real life Chief Justice Thomas Lefroy (1776-1869). Harris Bigg-Wither and Lefroy are ingeniously woven into Norland’s play as Jane Austen’s historical love interests. For those less familiar with Jane Austen’s history they may find this collision of reality and fiction confusing, although Plevy and her cast make the intentions of the characters quite clear.
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| Marco Simunec (Mr. Lefroy) Lidia Milosavljenic (Jane) |
On opening night Rep’s production of Lizzy, Darcy & Jane was still in need of flair. Norland’s clever dramatic device gives performers license to breathe passion into their parts. After all, a play such as Lizzy, Darcy & Jane that remains true to Austen’s keen perceptions of human folly is all the more amusing when the author too becomes the victim of the heart’s fallibility where love is concerned.
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| Sterling Notley (Mr. Bingley( Marco Simunec (Mr. Darcy) |
Rep’s production of Norland’s witty work offers an entertaining night at the theatre which is certain to gain momentum as the season progresses. There are excellent performances from Milosavljevic, Rosenthal and Sterling and lovers of Pride and Prejudice will enjoy the thrill of witnessing Jane’s dilemma in this fusion of reality and fiction within Austen’s timeless imagination.
