Theatre - Pride and Prejudice, The Musical
It’s true to the 200-year-old, much-loved story of the troubled courtship between the financially strapped Elizabeth Bennett (Hazel Gardner) and Fitzwilliam Darcy (Neil McDermott), a wealthy aristocrat. Elizabeth has four unmarried sisters, a supercilious father (Ben Sleep), and a preposterous, snobbish and transparent mother, Mrs Bennett (Christina Nelson), whose goal is to see her daughters marry well.
The singing is of a mixed quality and the sound doesn’t serve the actors well. When Mrs Bennett opens the show, her voice is drowned out by a loud piano. The lyrics don’t move the action along; they concentrate on feelings. Because ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is heavily nuanced, with subtle changes in mood conveyed by precise use of language, the singing underscores what the characters are really thinking.
