Jane Austen festival returns
This weekend Bath will again celebrate all things Jane Austen with the 20th anniversary festival, including Saturday’s Grand Regency Costumed Promenade at the Holburne Museum between 11am and noon. This year the festival – postponed in 2020 – runs from tomorrow (Friday) until September 19. A range of events is taking place across the city including these at the Mission Theatre:
Monday, September 13
■ As danced on TV: Dance workshop 1 – 10.30am. Join callers from the Jane Austen Dancers for a fun session covering a selection of dances from TV productions of Austen novels. Tickets: £15.
■ As danced on TV: Dance workshop 2 – 1.30pm. Second of the day’s dance sessions.
■ At Jane Austen’s Ball – narrated performance 4pm. To end the day of dance the Jane Austen Dancers take you on an imaginary visit to a fashionable Regency assembly. Tickets: £16.
■ To Take a Dish of Tea with Jane Austen – 8pm. The etiquette associated with the taking of tea! Tickets: £16.
Tuesday, September 14
■ From Promenade to Pandemic – 20 years of the festival – 11am. A one-off illustrated presentation by Jackie Herring in what is to be her last year as festival director. Tickets: £10.
■ Pugs and Prejudice – presentation – 2.30pm. A whimsical look back in time to pampered pooches and other pets in the 18th and 19th centuries. Tickets: £10.
■ Princely Austen supporter becomes King! – 8pm. A new presentation from Select Society promises to be an entertaining evening. Tickets: £16.
Wednesday, September 15
■ Jane Austen and The Cheltonians – theatrical – 7.30pm. A new play by Caroline Summerfield, performed by Natura Contemporary Theatre Company. Tickets: £22.
Thursday, September 16
■ Jane Austen Embroidery – book discussion – 2pm. Jennie Batchelor and Alison Larkin discuss their recent collaboration on this book of ‘authentic embroidery projects for modern stitchers.’ Tickets: £12.
■ Requiem for a Rogue: Writing ‘Being Mr Wickham’ – talk – 4pm. Catherine Curzon offers an inside look at how she and Adrian Lukis brought Mr Wickham back to life for their acclaimed show, Being Mr Wickham. Tickets: £12.
Friday, September 17
■ What would Jane do? – with podcaster Julia Golding – 10.30am. Award-winning children’s author and former British diplomat with a doctorate in English Literature from Oxford University. Her podcast What Would Jane Do? offers a 19th century take on modern life. Tickets: £10.
■ The anatomy of an Austen novel: Pride and Prejudice – 12.15pm. A writer’s workshop with Dr Gabrielle Malcolm that considers what makes Jane Austen’s novels so effective. Tickets: £10.
■ The Jane Austen writers’ panel – discussion – 3.30pm. Dr Gabrielle Malcolm (author of There’s Something About Darcy, 2019) hosts a group of Austen-influenced writers, including: Sarah Jane Downing (Pastimes and Pleasures in the time of Jane Austen, 2021), Zoe Wheddon (Jane Austen’s Best Friend: The Life and Influences of Martha Lloyd, 2021), and Catherine Curzon (Being Mr Wickham, 2020). Tickets: £18.
■ Almost Austen: written and performed by Louise Geller – 8pm. Tickets: £18.
Saturday, September 18
■ Offstage Austen – with Prof John Mullan – 11.30am. One of Jane Austen’s gifts is letting us infer what has been said off-stage. This talk will bring to light the clues to conversations and manoeuvres that are not reported in Austen’s novels, but that shape their plots. Tickets: £16.
■ Listening to Miss Bates – with Prof John Mullan – 2.30pm. Of course, in Emma, no one does listen to Miss Bates. But if they did, they might understand what was really going on in Highbury. Tickets: £16.
■ A Decent Proposal! – Natural Theatre Company – 8pm. Join the Natural Theatre Company on a hilarious journey through Austen’s most well-known, romantic – and sometimes unbearably awkward – propositions of matrimony. Tickets: £22.
Tickets for all The Jane Austen Festival events are available at Bath Box Office, 01225 463362, or online at www.bathboxoffice.org.uk.