Pride And Prejudice (sort of) is a feisty and fabulously funny retelling of one of the best-known romances ever written. Having won the 2022 Olivier Award for Best Comedy whilst showing in the West End, the production is currently enjoying its second successful UK tour.

Faithful to the original Jane Austin plot, the show recounts the trials and tribulations of the five Bennet sisters, who need to marry. The patriarchal restrictions of the Regency era dictate that only a male can inherit, which would leave the siblings and their somewhat neurotic mother homeless and destitute upon their father’s death...

This imaginative, witty and exhilarating show sees the entire cast of characters played by just five women. The story is retold via the observations of servants of the featured families, rather than through the Bennet sisters and their male counterparts. Overlooked and undervalued, the servants interject with views and opinions throughout the show, breaking the fourth wall by interacting directly with the audience. changing costumes at superspeed and using a variety of dialects to great effect.

Although not a musical, the show does feature a selection of contemporary karaoke-style pop favourites, performed by the actors using handheld microphones. Songs such as Holding Out For A Hero, Young Hearts Run Free and Lady In Red fit cleverly into the story and are well performed by the cast. The actors also play a number of different instruments throughout the performance, including the piano, accordion, trumpet, saxophone and xylophone. The use of music is upbeat and funny, adding yet another dimension of playful silliness to the show.

Nobody plays Mr Bennet. His character is depicted by an armchair with its back to the audience, a floating newspaper and pipe smoke. 

Unlike the other actors, all of whom play a variety of roles, Emmy Stonelake stays in the part of the headstrong and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet for most of the performance. Her rendition of You’re So Vain, directed towards Mr Darcy (masterfully played by Dannie Harris), is one of the show’s many highlights. 

The whole cast, which also includes Lucy Gray, Leah Jamieson and Megan Louise Wilson, are magnificent. Their energy is tremendous, comic timing perfect, and characterisations simply sensational. The cast literally burst onto the stage at the beginning of the show and don’t let the pace drop even for a second. 

A rude, riotous and rip-roaring comedy from start to finish, Pride And Prejudice (sort of) last night had its audience (including me) laughing out loud way too many times to remember. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in heading for home with a smile on my face. 

4 stars

Reviewed by Sue Hull at Malvern Theatres on Tuesday 30 May. The production runs at the theatre until Saturday 3 June