Austentatious at Vaudeville Theatre Review
Written by Mia for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Although Jane Austen books are often hailed as romances, many of them are actually satirical observations of society - often with sentences that make you laugh out loud. So I reckon Jane would very much approve of an improvised show in the style of her writings. However, I believe they are yet to receive the patronage of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, which is seriously displeasing.
Improv is such an amazing skill; quick wit, memory and - of course - the ability to think on your feet. When done for comedy value, it’s also very important to be able to laugh at yourself. Austentatious invites the audience to suggest a title for the show. Naturally, these involve a lot of puns, some - like Tent and Tent Stability - are inspired, and others… less so.
With Stephen Mangan stepping into the ‘guest performer’ slot (and coping admirably), the cast takes on Four Bennets and a Funeral with varying degrees of success.
It is hilarious as a show, with a plot that clings to credibility by a thread, as characters change name halfway through, actors switch bonnets and genders at the drop of a - sorry - hat… but it works so well, because it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Not that it could really, when we have death by ping pong balls, origami coffins and cockney Bennet brothers, not to mention a lot of corpses (and corpsing).
Perhaps it’s not quite Austen in its style (although rumour has it that Jane was made to remove her many profanities by a prudish editor), but it plays to the tropes we love, adds a man in regimentals and includes plenty of drama, innuendo, and men with several thousand a year. Half of the humour is the cast desperately trying not to laugh at whatever absurd sentence flies from their mouth, provoking each other and breaking the fourth wall just the right amount.
The fact that it’s completely different every night adds to the hilarity because nobody knows what to expect. The cast members handle it very well, going with the flow, feeding off each other and managing to bring it all to a satisfying conclusion.
Remarkable, incandescent and not in the least bit vexing, this show is as excellent as boiled potatoes.
Austentatious plays at the Vaudeville Theatre for select performances.
★★★★★
