Austen unravelled for stage
How do you stage a play when, due to the constraints of the Regency period, the main character cannot share her thoughts?
That was the challenge for theatre group Stagecraft when putting together an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion that will see two actors – Abby Lyons and Charlie Potter – both play the lead character, Anne Elliot.
In Austen’s novel, Elliot’s narrative arc sees her breaking her engagement to the man she loves, on advice from her family, due to his lack of money and prospects, only to reunite with him 10 years later.
Potter portrays the Anne of the present, 10 years after her broken engagement, while Lyons plays her younger self, giving voice to the character’s innermost thoughts on stage.
Part of the issue of adapting Persuasion was the abundance of internal narrative, Potter said – which could be seen in the failure of Netflix’s 2022 version, starring Dakota Johnston.
The stage adaptation, which was developed by dramaturg Anna Renton-Green alongside Potter, Lyons, and other crew, circumvents the issue by having Lyons represent Anne’s internal narrative.
Lyons said her role differed from Potter’s in that she represented Anne’s inner emotions, that family duty and regency society demanded she push down.
“She has a lot of feelings that she doesn't express. So I definitely approach it from that more emotive, chaotic, way, because it's everything she wishes she could say.”
Part of Anne’s arc is seeing her regain her own agency from the controlling thumb of her family, Potter said. She was extremely constricted by her family, feeling unappreciated and bullied by them.
“On top of that she is constrained by the society of the time – the Regency period – and all the expectations of what it is to be a woman at that time.”
The entire cast read the book before devising the play, with Renton-Green using modern stage methods to give Anne a voice in her own narrative, Lyons said.
“While it sounds like a Regency play and the costumes look very Regency, some of the modes of storytelling aren't very Regency.”
The actors will be on stage together for two hours and Potter said she was grateful she had the other actor to lean on.
“There are cute moments where perhaps Anne is observing one of the other characters, and we sort of look at each other and like, wiggle our eyebrows.
The two had also acted together in a separate Jane Austen adaptation: Pride and Prejudice where Potter played Charlotte Lucas and Lyons Lydia Bennett.
Their roles are very different this time and while the story is tinged with the sadness of lost love, Potter and Lyons stress there are funny moments too, particularly involving Anne’s father, Sir Walter Elliot – a “very vain, kind of almost drama queen-esque character”.
Potter said t the most important part of the play was the development of Anne’s character.
“We've all been really keen to keep the emphasis on that theme, about the character and her growth as a person . ... A lot of people can connect with that idea of being able to get a second chance to stand up for yourself and to do what's right for you.”
– Persuasion runs at the Gryphon Theatre from May 8-18. Tickets $20 - $30. For more details and to book: www.stagecraft.co.nz