Pride And Prejudice (Sort Of) transforms Jane Austen’s most enduring love story into an inventive musical comedy where five performers play more than 25 characters, led by an exceptional Amy Lehpamer in a production that is as funny as it is unexpectedly moving.
by Paul Cashmere
More than 200 years after Jane Austen published Pride And Prejudice, Isobel McArthur has found a fresh way to tell one of literature’s most familiar stories. Pride And Prejudice (Sort Of), now playing at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre ahead of a national tour, hands the microphone to the servants and lets five performers tackle every role in an irreverent, fast-moving production filled with pop songs, rapid-fire costume changes and an extraordinary amount of comic energy.
The Australian premiere arrives with considerable pedigree. Following its 2018 debut in Glasgow, the production transferred to London’s West End and won the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play in 2022. It has since completed multiple UK tours and now lands in Australia at a time when interest in Austen’s work remains undiminished, with new film and television adaptations continuing to revisit her stories.
What immediately sets Pride And Prejudice (Sort Of) apart is its perspective. Instead of centring exclusively on Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy, McArthur’s adaptation places the household servants at the centre of the action. They narrate, observe and perform every role, frequently breaking into contemporary pop songs that cleverly express emotions Austen’s restrained social world often leaves unsaid.
The soundtrack becomes part of the storytelling. Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain is brilliantly deployed as Elizabeth sizes up the aloof Mr Darcy. Will You Love Me Tomorrow and Young Hearts Run Free both find natural places within the narrative, while Sade’s Smooth Operator accompanies the charming but unreliable Wickham.
The evening’s biggest laugh may come courtesy of an entirely absurd but inspired joke involving singer Chris de Burgh. Lady Catherine de Bourgh demands a rendition of The Lady In Red, presenting the singer as her “nephew”. The joke initially feels gloriously ridiculous before unexpectedly becoming one of the show’s more sincere and affecting moments.
Under Simon Harvey’s direction, the cast performs an astonishing balancing act. Five actors portray more than 25 characters, often changing costumes and personalities in seconds while also singing and playing instruments including piano, violin, guitar and kazoo.
At the centre of the production is Amy Lehpamer, who once again demonstrates why she remains one of Australia’s most versatile musical theatre performers. Her comic instincts are impeccable. She moves effortlessly between the amiable Mr Bingley, the quietly heartbroken Charlotte Lucas and the deliciously vain Caroline Bingley, creating fully formed personalities in remarkably little stage time.
Lehpamer’s portrayal of Charlotte proves especially affecting. The production introduces a queering of Charlotte’s relationship with Elizabeth that gives the character unexpected emotional depth and provides some of the evening’s most poignant moments. Her ability to switch instantly between broad physical comedy and genuine pathos is one of the production’s great strengths.
Teo Vergara brings warmth and spirit to Elizabeth Bennet, preserving the character’s intelligence and stubborn independence while ensuring audiences remain firmly on her side. Zoe Ioannou is equally impressive, generating huge laughs as the frantic Mrs Bennet and then pivoting completely to deliver a physically rigid and emotionally repressed Mr Darcy.
Kaori Maeda-Judge and Ruby Shannon complete an exceptionally cohesive ensemble. Maeda-Judge transitions seamlessly from the gentle Jane Bennet to an extravagantly theatrical Lady Catherine de Bourgh, while Shannon proves a revelation in her professional stage debut, creating distinctly different personalities for Mary, Lydia and the odious Mr Collins.
The production’s technical elements support the constant reinvention. Ana Inés Jabares-Pita’s towering library set and sweeping staircase become every location required by the story, while colourful Regency costumes make rapid transformations possible. The sight of servants in plain white shifts suddenly emerging as aristocrats contributes significantly to the humour. Lighting designer Jason Bovaird and sound designer Marcello Lo Ricco add polish to a production that embraces theatrical chaos without ever losing narrative clarity.
Pride And Prejudice (Sort Of) respects Austen while simultaneously dismantling convention. Existing Austen devotees will appreciate the numerous references and observations, but newcomers should find equal enjoyment in a production that uses music, comedy and sheer theatrical ingenuity to make a two-century-old story feel remarkably contemporary.
Ruby Shannon, Kaori Maeda-Judge Amy Lehpamer, Zoe Ioannou, Teo Vergara photo by Matthew Chen
2026 Australian Tour Dates
18 June to 12 July, Melbourne, Athenaeum Theatre
16 July to 30 August, Sydney, Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House
2 September to 13 September, Wollongong, IMB Theatre, IPAC
16 September to 27 September, Canberra, Canberra Theatre Centre
30 September to 18 October, Brisbane, Playhouse Theatre, QPAC
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