Austen’s Enduring Appeal: Modern Adaptations Tackle Class, Love, and the Cost of Living Crisis
Jane Austen’s immortal opening line from Pride and Prejudice, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife,” might need a contemporary update. In today’s world, that “good fortune” is more likely to be a diversified asset portfolio, and the “want of a wife” could be a complex interplay of love, security, and societal expectations. For those less familiar with the 19th-century classic, Pride and Prejudice chronicles the lives of the Bennet sisters, whose futures are intrinsically tied to securing advantageous marriages, a necessity amplified by their inability as women to inherit their family estate.
Coinciding with Austen’s 250th birthday last year, Australia has witnessed a remarkable resurgence of theatrical interpretations of her beloved novel. From the avant-garde to the traditional, these productions are prompting audiences to consider the enduring relevance of Austen’s Regency-era tale in the face of contemporary Australian challenges like the housing affordability crisis and the escalating cost of living.
A Swathe of Australian Interpretations
The theatrical landscape across Australia has been abuzz with Pride and Prejudice, offering a diverse range of perspectives on the classic story:
- Melbourne’s Bloomshed: At the Malthouse Theatre, the Melbourne-bred ensemble Bloomshed has delivered a decidedly “wacky” and absurdist take on the novel. Their production boldly injects contemporary vernacular, such as “girlie pops,” and employs imaginative casting choices, including a wilting plant as Mr. Bennet and Syd Brisbane masterfully portraying both the obsequious Mr. Collins and the second-youngest Bennet daughter, Kitty. This approach allows for greater theatrical freedom and a sharper critique of the underlying themes.
- National Tour: A national tour of Pride and Prejudice (sort of), a Laurence Olivier Award-winning production, is currently captivating audiences. This version leans heavily into the musical comedy genre, employing modern humour and karaoke to reimagine the narrative.
- Queensland Theatre: Wendy Mocke and Lewis Treston’s Matilda Award-winning adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is making a welcome return to Queensland Theatre, offering a critically acclaimed interpretation.
- Tasmanian Solo Performance: In Tasmania, actress Nadine Garner is captivating audiences with a one-woman show, narrating the beloved story and embodying its numerous characters.
These varied productions, while distinct in their artistic direction, collectively explore how Austen’s foundational themes of class, marriage, and societal expectations resonate in 21st-century Australia.
Reimagining Austen: Satire, Music, and Behind-the-Scenes Glimpses
The inherent constraints of stage adaptations often foster immense creativity, and these Pride and Prejudice productions are no exception. Bloomshed’s 90-minute rendition, for instance, amplifies Austen’s signature social commentary and satire to an almost surreal level.
“When you can stray from the original, it gives you more room to be theatrical, cheeky and challenge the topics,” remarks Syd Brisbane, highlighting the liberating effect of deviating from strict adherence to the text. Justin Gardam, Bloomshed’s sound designer, elaborates on the playful subversion of tradition: “At the Netherfield Ball with Lizzie and Darcy, we assume positions as if we’re going to do a Regency-style dance, and then they jump into something that’s more relaxed and clubbier.” This injects a vibrant, modern energy into the familiar scenes.
In contrast, Pride and Prejudice — An Adaptation in Words and Music, presented within the evocative setting of regional Tasmania’s Clarendon Estate, offers a more traditional yet profoundly immersive experience. Written by British author Gill Hornby, who has a history of exploring the Austen family narrative, this production features a live rendition of Carl Davis’s score from the iconic 1995 BBC mini-series. Actress Nadine Garner skillfully narrates the plot while seamlessly embodying each character, using the music as a crucial narrative element. “I worked with the music, almost as another character, and the venue lends itself to an otherworldliness, an old-worldliness, as if stepping back in time,” Garner explains.
Young, Fun, and Facing Financial Strain
While artistic interpretations may play with genre, the core of Pride and Prejudice remains its exploration of class and inheritance. Pride and Prejudice (sort of), with its strong lean towards musical comedy and contemporary humour, ingeniously flips the script by focusing on the lives of the Bennet household’s servants. Producer Alex Woodward notes, “It gives a voice to characters usually ignored in the original text, offering funny context on what is happening behind the scenes.” This perspective provides a fresh and often humorous lens through which to view the main plot.
Gardam describes Bloomshed’s approach as employing “an inherently satirical lens that engages with what’s going on politically around us.” The ensemble’s agility in adapting to last-minute script changes proved particularly advantageous when the federal budget was released just days before their opening, providing immediate and relevant material, especially concerning its impact on younger generations.
Bloomshed’s interpretation masterfully translates Austen’s enduring themes into a modern Australian context, addressing issues from inflation to exploitative landlords. Dabee Wiradjuri performer Lauren Swain, who plays both Mary Bennet and Mr. Wickham for Bloomshed, expresses their fascination with how the play critiques systemic inequalities: “Looking at Pride and Prejudice through the lens of the housing market, I’m intrigued by how we can critique these systems that are perpetuating the rise of some and the oppression of others.”
The production’s visual design further reinforces these themes. Savanna Wegman’s set and Samantha Hastings’s costuming cleverly convey capitalistic ideals. A towering, tiered cake serves as a potent symbol of marriage and social hierarchy, with characters ascending its levels as their status progresses. While maintaining Regency aesthetics, the colour palette draws inspiration from Australian banknotes, and Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley sport comically oversized hats, adding to the visual commentary on social pretension.
The financial pressures highlighted in the play are not confined to the fictional Bennet household. Garner notes that cuts to arts funding have also necessitated a leaner approach to theatre production, influencing the staging of her Tasmanian show. “Companies have had to be very canny about how they stage anything, and so we’ve ended up with one-woman shows. That’s now the model that makes money,” she laments, reflecting a broader trend within the arts sector.
Does Gender Still Dictate Financial Circumstance?
In our contemporary era, can romantic entanglements truly be separated from the practicalities of merging financial resources? Mrs. Bennet’s fervent pursuit of wealthy bachelors Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley for her daughters underscores the age-old question of whether marriage is primarily driven by love or financial expediency.
These modern theatrical interpretations also challenge the binary gender roles prevalent in Austen’s original text through their casting and costuming choices. Garner herself dons Regency gentleman’s attire, while Swain brings a palpable queerness to their dual portrayal of the roguish Mr. Wickham and Mary Bennet, a character often theorised as lesbian and, in Bloomshed’s version, ends up with Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s ailing daughter, Anne. Furthermore, Pride and Prejudice (sort of) features a predominantly femme-led cast, further blurring traditional gender lines.
The productions also bravely engage with conversations surrounding race in period dramas. Bloomshed’s casting decisions and the plot’s exploration of colonisation bring this crucial dimension to the forefront.
While Austen elevates Elizabeth Bennet as a feminist icon for her refusal to marry for anything less than genuine love, contemporary Australian women face a complex landscape of choices. The persistent gender pay gap, the motherhood penalty, superannuation deficits, the pervasive threat of homelessness, and the devastating reality of intimate partner violence all pose significant risks to future financial security. Consequently, many women remain in unhappy marriages for reasons of economic dependence.
“Austen’s cleverly infiltrated a conservative time with a novel that documents gross inequality; however, how quickly a woman can be disenfranchised is still very much a threat,” Garner observes. “There are still things to fight, you know?” Her poignant statement serves as a powerful reminder that the struggles for equality and security, though perhaps manifesting differently, continue to be fought today.
