By Jennifer Beasley.
Wild, wacky and wonderful, Pride and Prejudice, Bloomshed style, smashes the ceiling on absurdist comedy.
I love a good potted plant.
Yes. You’re read this correctly because in this ninety-minute retelling of Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice, the Monstera Delicosa, or plain old Monstera, is going to make perfect sense as the stand-in for Mr. Bennet, dying husband of the overwrought Mrs. Bennet, and mother of five unwed daughters.
A quick search of the Bunnings website tells me this particular potted plant thrives on neglect, which is completely ignore by the overwatering, over-enthusiastic and over everything Mrs. Bennet, lamenting her soon-to-be homeless state once the plant becomes compost and cousin Mr. Collins inherits the house, and the five daughters who have their own minds yet understand that the altered economic and housing situation is going to impact their lives in drastic ways.
This Green Room winning play pits the delightful facial eyebrow raising of Elizabeth Brennan as Elizabeth Bennet, as she argues and applies social justice on billionaire (adjusted for inflation) Mr. Darcy, a dullard if ever there was one and acted with beautiful restraint by James Jackson.
Introducing his dill of a friend to the Bennets, a peacocking Mr. Bingley, a lowly millionaire, performed by John Marc Desengano, who also doubles as a Bridgeton-like Lady Catherine de Bourgh, brings great fiery energy here which sets the heart racing for Jane Bennet, the graceful Anna Louey, whose other role as Anne de Bourgh, represented by a skull, is truly side-splitting.
The third sister, the hormonal sixteen-year-old Lydia Bennet is busy exercising her life away as Laura Aldous brings determination to this role, with a complete switch up as the plummy and snobby sister to Mr. Bingley. As Catherine, Aldous really stamps herself on the stage, a giant wedding cake, with a thoughtful massive fork protruding at the edge. The dance-off scene between Catherine and Elizabeth, a kind of stately tango, as they via for the attentions of Mr. Darcy, is extremely clever. This play isn’t just a commentary on wealth and housing but also on feminine competition.
This brings us to the fourth sister, Mary, she of the Goth and lesbian ambitions. Totting a gun, Lauren Swain revels in the glowering angst against, well, everyone. Her other role as the lustful Mr. Wickham brings the house down. I’ll never forget that sexy swagger as the villainous Warwick Wickham sashays oh-so-slowly off the stage. Brilliant direction here, where the cast are their own collective directors, and not afraid to allow extended moments to punch through.
The last sister? Oh, that’s just Kitty. Don’t worry about her!
Syd Brisbane has the joy of bringing this sister to life, as well as the obnoxious Mr. Collins, who weds one of the audience members. What a lucky gal!
Of course, there is the amazing Emily Carr, who won a Green Room award as best performer for her roles as Mrs. Bennet and Georgiana Darcy. Her admissions that she has a horde of daughters, and any one of them would do as a wife for Mr. Darcy, the modern mixed with staged dance pieces, and the eternal carrying of her beloved overwatered Monstera, all add up to Carr’s extraordinary acting abilities. But one would really be struggling to pick out any one performer as better than the other, such is the unity that this troop present.
In particular I love the awkward tea party at the residence of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, stationary throughout the scene, as Mr. Collins tries to place a disposable paper teacup in her hand, which she raises higher out of his way, while Elizabeth and a tea bag dipping Mr. Darcy eye each other, with plenty of shuffling and lip biting. Brilliant and this type of uncomfortable silence really aces that dramatic tension.
The marvellous set of a giant cake is the work of Savanna Wegman and underscores the absurdist nature of this performance. Lovely costumes by Samantha Hastings allows the actors to move with enough of a nod to the Regency era to make it work. John Collopy’s lighting is crisp and clear, spotlighting when necessary and dramatic blackouts between scenes aids in the pacing.
I loved the sound score by Justin Gardam. A combination of Regency type music and impactful beats lands well and pushes the comedy to greater heights. Simply superb.
There’s plenty of red glitter as metaphors, breaking the fourth wall and loads of laughs.
This is wonderful fun and I encourage everyone to see this. I even spotted Sarah Snooks attending. What better endorsement do you need? A standing ovation? Check that!
Now get your tickets, this is truly inspiring, so much so that I’m off on a date with Brad, a Spathiphyllum, or Peace Lily, who owns a garden shed and a collection of Bonsai plants.
Pride and Prejudice is playing at Malthouse until 23rd May 2026.
Image: Simon Fazio
