BRINGING A CLASSIC TO LIFE
Persephone stages Austen favourite
It took Jane Austen 17 years to publish Pride and Prejudice.
It took Heather Morrison two days to read it.
“I read the novel for the first time when I was 13. I was absorbed immediately,” she says.
And now, she fulfils a lifelong dream of playing Elizabeth Bennet in the stage version.
“Elizabeth Bennet has always stayed with me because she was always so true to herself.”
She wouldn’t, for instance, waste her time trying to impress just anyone.
“She was, like, no, if you’re not a good person and if you’re not someone I’m interested in, it’s not going to happen.”
It’s far from surprising to Morrison that the story of Elizabeth and
Mr. Darcy’s at-first rocky relationship has endured for 205 years. It was ahead of its time — a woman’s story told by a woman.
The role means so much to Morrison that she has re-read the book four times and become the on-set expert.
“This book has been a place where women can go and feel connected to literature and feel understood.”
The play must perforce leave some things out, but not the good stuff, Morrison says.
“It’s got all the hits, all the favourite lines, all the great scenes and all the characters.”
The casting of Aaron Hursh as Mr. Darcy was another non-surprise, Morrison confesses. They auditioned together, did the same three scenes four times and both got callbacks.
They’ve enjoyed a running start — they’ve been in eight previous productions, three as a romantic couple.
“We’ve been working together for so long that I’ve had the opportunity to watch him grow as an artist and he will always be the most professional and generous person in the room,” says Morrison.
They are but two in a cast of 17 with a production team of the same size; Persephone Theatre is going all-out in its season finale, directed by Johnna Wright.
Morrison mentions Bonnie Deakin’s lavish costumes (Elizabeth alone has five outfits) and the care taken with period authenticity. To ensure the correct, bolt-upright posture, the actors stuck athletic tape to their backs to remind them not to slouch. Morrison has visited a physiotherapist. And taken painkillers.
“This is not a joke,” she says, “one of the actresses went for her physical exam and she was half an inch taller.”
They suffer for a cause, our actors. There’s a lot of pressure doing a story everyone loves and knows well.
“With our whole heart, we want to do it justice and we want people to come in and have the book brought to life for them.”