★★★

“The audience were there for a fun night out and they left happy”

The UK national tour of Pride & Prejudice* (*Sort Of) opened this week at the beautiful Theatre Royal Windsor.

Pride & Prejudice* (*Sort Of) by Isobel McArthur, after Jane Austen, is a fun reinvention of Austen’s caustic tale of love and manners, performed by an all-female cast of five, with double-quick costume changes, playing all the roles. Audiences never seem to tire of the endless TV, films and theatre productions based on Austen’s beloved classic period romance, and devoted fans will quickly recognise a nod to Colin Firth’s Darcy “wet shirt” scene in this adaptation.

The original production of the show started life at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow, went to the Fringe, toured, transferred to the West End and won an Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2022. This current touring production feels somewhat re-hashed and clunky, knowing too well where the comedy moments are; be it the cast as baaing sheep, presenting a plate of Ferrero Rocher at a ball, grabbing a mike and singing a karaoke song or a quick change – it will get a laugh out of the audience. The biggest laughs of the night were always the casual expletives.…

Comedy is centre stage as we meet the five, playing below stairs maids wearing white Regency style petticoats and yellow marigolds, cleaning the Bennet family’s chamber pots. They rue Austen’s lack of care for the servants in her books, who never get a happy ending. Then with a grab of a microphone they break into song and turn into Mrs Bennet and the five Bennet sisters – well four Bennet sisters, we don’t ever meet Kitty.

McArthur’s adaptation is for modern audiences to enjoy and mostly keeps close to the original story of the Regency period dating game, when women could not inherit wealth and must marry for financial gain. A few new touches include friend Charlotte’s unrequited love for Elizabeth Bennet – but she still ends up with Mr Collins.

The cast of young actresses Emma Rose Creaner, Eleanor Kane, Rhianna McGreevy, Naomi Preston Low and Christine Steel clearly relish all the roles that they play as the tale of the uncouth Mrs Bennet’s race to marry off her five dowry-less daughters before they lose the family home unfolds. We never meet Mr Bennet, who is played by a back facing armchair reading an open newspaper – genius casting! Love is eventually found with Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy but not with the devil may care Wickham.

Slightly disconcerting to the ear, was the fact that all the Bennet family members had different accents, as the cast were playing them with their own natural accent, making the production feel slightly studenty, but perhaps that was the intention. A standout moment was Rhianna McGreevy capturing Darcy’s pride with his sincere love for Elizabeth Bennet, with the audience routing for him to win her hand. And then there was Emma Rose Creaner whose every role was beautifully delivered be it her feisty Irish maid, the accident prone, stuck hand in a Pringle carton Mr Bingley, the dull yet softly spoken Charlotte or the stuck-up vicious Caroline Bingley.

Ana Inés Jabares-Pita’s set featuring a curved staircase, was cleverly designed to transform into another stately home or ballroom by simply adding a modern standard lamp or a life size horse (!), and her costumes were uncomplicated yet said everything that needed to be said about each character.

The audience were there for a fun night out and they left happy.

FIGARO: AN ORIGINAL MUSICAL

London Palladium

★★

“The cast of seven worked as well as they could and the standout performances were the two children”

A two-night run at the London Palladium of new musical Figaro – An Original Musical; with music, lyrics, co-book, co-created, orchestrated and arranged by Ashley Jana and co-book, co-created and directed by Will Nunziata.

This was a brave move to put a “full” production on stage of a new musical on to such an iconic stage – but the hope would be that it will be picked up and given an onward life. Clearly a lot of development, time and money has gone into the show to date and it already has a list of 10 producers’ names above the title. This is American duo’s Jana and Nunziata’s first musical – and one wonder’s why it was premiered in this showcase in London’s West End rather than Broadway?

Figaro – An Original Musical is set in Italy and tells the story of Sienna (Cayleigh Capaldi) who dreams of singing professionally but lives a hard life on the farm with her father (Daniel Brocklebank). On a rainy day at the local market, she gets separated from her father and finds herself in a completely different town, and, as her head spins, she is saved by two young orphans who take her to their home, a travelling circus run by the Svengali that is Figaro (Jon Robyns). Very much like the story of Phantom of the Opera, Sienna becomes the bright shining singing star of the travelling show, replacing the original star and lover of Figaro, Lucia (Aimie Atkinson). But it was never going to end well, as we knew, having seen a dead Figaro lying at the feet of Sienna at the opening of the show before it then goes back in time to the beginning of the story – very Sunset Boulevard.

The book needs a lot of work still, with various storylines left in the air and grating lines such as the dastardly Figaro ordering the innocent Sienna “meet me in the alley in 10 minutes”. The score is ballad after ballad, everyone sings a ballad, none of which move the musical on, with lyrics like “April showers, fake plastic flowers” when singing of a broken heart. Mostly the end of the songs come as a slight surprise, as they seem to peter out and never quite finish, even though most have a strong and telling key change.

The cast of seven worked as well as they could and the standout performances were the two children, even though their storyline didn’t hold together. Both children already have strong leading West End credits to their names, Sophia Goodman having just played the titular role in Matilda, and Cian Eagle-Service is currently starring as Oliver in Oliver! which I recently saw and commented on his extraordinary voice, as being one to watch. They gave some sweet light relief. Throw in a caring seamstress Gia (Ava Brennan) who sees all but does nothing to help, and it is difficult to see where any of these characters might go.

Capaldi sings well with a great vocal range, but her big number, when Sienna sings like an angel for the first time, does not make the iconic and unforgettable scene that The Greatest Showman’s ‘Never Enough’ does, however similar. There is no passion or connection between Capaldi and the supposedly mesmeric Figaro (Jon Robyns); and other than hypnotising them all with his gold fob watch, it is difficult to see what possible hold Figaro has over everyone.

The opening number of Act II, sung by Robyns, might well sit better as a strong scene setting opening to the whole show. Act II could then open with Sienna making her glorious debut performance. Lose the picnic with Sienna and the children, with Figaro telling them that he had not killed Lucia…. which then would enable a dramatic scene seeing Lucia is very much alive in Act II seeking revenge – having ducked Figaro’s bullet which the audience thought had killed her at the end of Act One…… Are you keeping up?

Figaro – An Original Musical is a work in progress – and in many ways it was a shame that rather than the Musical in Concert on the Palladium stage as expected and advertised, it tried to be a full on production off book, with a one frame set, costumes (low budget mix between Six and Les Mis), and just the seven principles on stage – and no ensemble, not that there were any songs that could have been for a chorus, as all most definitely solo ballads.

For a first performance it was tight, well-rehearsed, with good sound and a strong band led by musical director Caitlin Morgan. They all get to perform Figaro – An Original Musical all over again on the 4th February – then maybe it’s back to the drawing board….

PRIDE & PREJUDICE* (*SORT OF)

Theatre Royal Windsor

★★★

“The audience were there for a fun night out and they left happy”

PRIDE & PREJUDICE* (*SORT OF)

Theatre Royal Windsor then UK Tour continues

Reviewed on 17th February 2025

by Debbie Rich

Photography by Mihaela Bodlovic

Previously reviewed at this venue:

PRIDE

PRIDE

PRIDE

FIGARO: AN ORIGINAL MUSICAL

London Palladium

★★

“The cast of seven worked as well as they could and the standout performances were the two children”