By Helen Musa

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice has been adapted countless times, but rarely with as much pizzazz as in Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of).

The Australian tour brings Isobel McArthur’s irreverent reimagining of Austen’s 1813 novel, now a cult hit, to Canberra.

After premiering in Scotland in 2018 and touring in 2019-20, the production opened in London’s West End in 2021 before touring again in 2022-23. It went on to win the 2022 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play.

Five performers play every character in Austen’s tale of love, class and social expectation while weaving a soundtrack of pop hits through the action.

The familiar story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy is transformed into a fast-paced theatrical romp, mixing modern language, romance, social ambition and songs such as Young Hearts Run Free, I Got You Babe and You’re So Vain.

Heading the Australian cast is Amy Lehpamer, whose formidable career has seen her work consistently on the professional stage since 2008. Her many accolades include the 2013 Broadway World Sydney Award for Best Actress in a Musical, the 2015 Sydney Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Musical and the 2018 Helpmann Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical.

When I catch up with Lehpamer midway through the tour in Sydney, she talks about the show’s essential ensemble spirit.

Contrary to my expectations, she is not playing Elizabeth Bennet at all, but a variety of characters, including Charles Bingley, Caroline Bingley, Charlotte Lucas and one of the maids who helps narrate the story. 

The role of Elizabeth falls to Teo Vergara, while Lehpamer is joined by Zoe Ioannou, Kaori Maeda-Judge and Ruby Shannon. Together, the quintet portray the Bennet family, Darcy, Bingley and every other character in the play.

Lehpamer’s turn as Charles Bingley is not her first venture into male roles. Remarkably, she played Judas in a 2005 production of Jesus Christ Superstar, winning a Victorian Music Theatre Guild award for Best Female Performance.

At the time she was studying violin at the conservatorium and faced a career-defining choice between becoming a professional musician and pursuing musical theatre. Theatre won out, although perhaps not entirely, since she also plays violin during Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of).

Nor is it surprising that Lehpamer is drawn to Austen. She holds a BA in English literature from the University of Melbourne, where she studied Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and, she thinks, Emma. A self-confessed Austen fan, she admires the novelist’s wit and understatement, describing her work as “full of wonder and delight”.

She is equally enthusiastic about Austen’s screen adaptations, such as  the 1995 BBC mini-series starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth (the one where Colin Firth gets very wet), Ang Lee’s 1995 film of Sense and Sensibility and Joe Wright’s 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen.

“There’s an embarrassment of riches,” she says.

Of McArthur’s adaptation, Lehpamer praises the way it updates the novel while remaining true to its spirit.

For playwright McArthur, the production represents the fulfilment of a long-held ambition. “It has been a long-held dream to undertake this tour with our take on Austen’s masterpiece,” she says. “This show is a true celebration of love and romance.”

Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), Canberra Theatre Centre, September 16-27.

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