In approaching Pride and Prejudice as a script for a production (February 2016), I pictured a young woman reading the novel in a coffee shop and being drawn into the story, imagining herself as Elizabeth Bennet. Though the novel offers narration in the third person, Austen’s use of free indirect discourse connects the reader primarily with Elizabeth. Because Elizabeth is a keen observer with a wry wit, as a reader it is a pleasure to experience the world of the novel from her perspective. I sought to capture this experience of reading, of immersing oneself into the fictional world of the past while relating Austen’s dynamic storytelling and wit to the present.
Joseph Hanreddy and J.R. Sullivan offer a stage adaptation that includes some word-for-word passages from the novel, but pares down the number of characters and emphasizes the theatrical potential of this story. The play is characterized by rapid changes of location, and includes moments when characters inhabit multiple locations at once. Many of the supporting characters are painted as comic types in the script; our actors endeavored to combine contemporary insight with period style to play their roles with some nuance. In many ways the production mimicked the mental processes of reading. By attempting to access the past through the present, we acknowledge that what Austen teaches us about love, marriage, and families transcends her time.
Scenic designer Peter Verhaeghe, a first-year MFA student, created a set that allowed for the script’s fast transitions by using periaktoi and flying elements to evoke settings symbolically:
The set combined with lighting by Christopher Stowell (second-year MFA) and media design by Hernando Claros (third-year MFA) in order to establish the changes of location and mood. Claros and Stowell were honored by the Lansing State Journal with Thespie Awards for their designs.
Costumes designed by third-year MFA candidate Stephanie Eubank evoked the Regency period while allowing for the coffee shop frame at the beginning and end of the play. The reader joined the world of the novel by adding a jacket over her maxi dress to become Elizabeth.
The set used symbols on the periaktoi to show shifts in location and mood. For example, the party scene at Netherfield featured images of musical notes:
In addition to following Department of Theatre casting policy, my goal in casting actors of color as Elizabeth Bennett, Kitty Bennett, and Mr. Gardiner was to raise questions about who has access to Austen. Austen’s work lives for us now differently than it did in the nineteenth century, and audiences have certain expectations for what they will see. Our production was seen by over 2000 people. Resistance to the production from audiences and critics never explicitly cited non-traditional casting as a problem. Rather, critics were resistant to the broad comedy of this production, particularly with regard to Mr. Collins.