SEASONAL ROMANCE
Jane Austen with a holiday spin
Jane Austen fan fiction with a holid ay theme? Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley can’t go wrong.
OK, “fan fiction” might be a bit of a misnomer.
But the play, which has stead ily gained in popularity since first staged in 2016, picks up on characters from Austen’s Pride and Prejud ice two years after the end of the 1813 novel.
In Miss Bennet, Mr. Darcy and Lizzie are living it up on the former’s estate when the latter’s family comes to visit for Christmas.
Among the visitors is Mary, Lizzie’s bookish mid d le sister. Romantic entanglements ensue when Darcy’s cousin, Arthur d e Bourgh (Matthew Macd onald - Bain) also d rops by. If anything, Arthur is as bookish as Mary, but more bumbling.
But Mary wants more than to just meet a fellow read er of French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck’s 1809 book Zoological Philosophy (a copy of which is a plot point in the play).
“She’s unmarried and lives at home,” said Kate Dion-Richard , who plays Mary in the Arts Club prod uction.
“She’s got her books, she loves to read and learn. She’s got her fortepiano. Everyone has put her in this pigeonhole of being perfectly content on her own. But she’s starting to feel a discontent that she can’t really und erstand . She wants more. She wants to live a full life. Whether that means love or travel or find ing her own way, that unfold s as the play progresses.”
To research the role, Dion-Richard re-read the novel. Looking at the story through her character’s point of view provid ed a d ifferent read ing experience.
“Any time Mary had any dialogue or any significant action, I mad e it part of my character history in creating the role,” the Vancouver actor said .
“She speaks with such clarity because she is so well read. Sometimes her humour is so dry and cutting. I’m trying to bring that into the show.”
Other characters/cast members include Jane( Leslie Dos Remedi os ), the pregnant elder Ben net sister; Mr. Bingley (Tim Carlson), another familiar from Pride and Prejudice; and the youngest Ben net, Lydia( Bar aka Rahmani). Roy Surette, who recently directed Marion Bridge at the Kay Meek Arts Centre, is directing.
“He has a beautiful vision,” Dion Richard said .“He’s got such a keen eye for different aspects of the comedy he’s able to pick upon and sharpen with us. He captures the true essence of the time period .”
Those still in denial over the 2015 end of Downton Abbey can get a fix of English aristocracy in the period dresses from costume designer Amy McDougall and sets by Ted Roberts (including a Christmas tree that is the object of much discussion in the play ).
“From what I’ve seen, they’re making a lot of new pieces for the show,” Dion-Richard said of the outfits. “The amount of work that the costume department is putting into this is incredible. The attention to detail is quite something .”
But Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley isn’t just for fans of Austen and Downton Abbey.
American playwright Lauren Gunderson, who wrote the play with dramat urge Margot Melcon, has said that the two sought to “reverse-engineer the perfect holiday play” by asking “what are the things you want ina holiday play ?” Miss Ben net delivers those ingredients.
“It’s for people who might just want some holiday cheer ,” Dion Richard said . “It’s for lovers of love, and the romantic in us. It also champions women, and finding one’s own path, especially in a time when women weren’t given the same choices as men. The playwrights have put a nice spin on that.”
She speaks with such clarity because she is so well read. Sometimes her humour is so dry and cutting. I’m trying to bring that into the show.