Contrary to my housemate’s opinion, Mansfield Park is a novel. But writer Tim Luscombe has made it into a rather amusing play.
As soon as the first characters appear, Mrs Norris (Karen Ascoe) and Sir Thomas Bertram (Richard Heap), the furious rate of the play is established. This swiftness can result in some slightly garbled speeches and to be quite honest, some faintly alarming barking. However, overall the cast manage to speak clearly to enable the audience to understand what is happening.
The comic timing of some of the cast was superb. Mr Rushworth (Geoff Arnold) in particular was always a welcome sight. Although Mansfield Park may not be Jane Austen’s most famous novel, her acerbic wit is definitely at work and has been well adapted by Luscombe.
However, even though the almost continuous laughter makes for an enjoyable evening it meant that whenever there was meant to be a serious scene, for instance when Fanny tells her uncle of her refusal of Mr Crawford, there would almost certainly be an hysterical giggle escaping from somewhere in the audience. This was again linked to the the speed of the performance, which came at the cost of some of the more nuanced parts of the play. So Edmund’s rather abrupt disavowal of Mary Crawford, after having spent most of the play declaring his love for her, does not inspire the audience with confidence that it really is love that he feels for Fanny.
However, these are slight qualms. The changes of character by the cast were all well done; at one point my friend and I didn’t even realise Mr Rushworth and Tom Bertram were played by the same person… Putting aside my lack of observational skills, I enjoyed this genuinely funny play immensely. Despite my twinge of (healthy) doubt at Edmund’s true feelings for Fanny – the passionate kiss in the middle of the drawing room was somewhat unexpected- there was something incredibly comforting about having the world of Jane Austen performed in the cynical, modern world.
The happy endings and just desserts were all in place and if you want an evening where you laugh hard and enjoy the warmth of a love story that ends well for a change then this is the play for you.
Cressy Travis
exeposedev 