Northanger Abbey
The second act of this play, adapted by Tim Luscombe from Jane Austen’s insubstantial novel is a marked improvement on the first, apart from the abrupt ending indicating that novelist and/or playwright had run out of ideas.
Rebecca Elliot and Vanessa Johnson in Northanger Abbey at Theatre by the Lake, Keswick Photo: Keith Pattison
The action moves from genteel Bath to Gothic Northanger Abbey and gives free reign to the teenage fantasies of Austen’s heroine, Catherine. Vanessa Johnson is excellent - her naïve country girl taken to ‘do’ the season in Bath and exposed to the manipulation of those with more money but fewer moral scruples is the highlight of Ian Forrest’s robust production.
Her obsession with bodice-ripping novels of the Regency period and her imposition of their standards onto the people she meets for the first time is a joy to watch.
Unfortunately, few of the remaining characters are as well fleshed out. Rebecca Elliot brings the manipulative Isabella to strident life, with James Hogg suitably lovable as Catherine’s suitor Henry and his Gothic counterpart Valancourt.
Likewise, Andrew Grose gives a lively double performance as Regency buck John Thorpe and his Gothic counterpart, Count Morano, while Stephen Ley and Maggie Tagney also excel in multiple roles - a device which enables the company to stage the play with just eight actors - plus an excellent live trio of musicians.
Martin Johns’ settings are perfection, whether depicting the opulence of the Bath Pump Room or the Gothic splendour of the crumbling Northanger Abbey.
But this is a surprising choice for the theatre’s summer repertory season opener. Whether it will appeal to anyone other than devout Jane Austen enthusiasts remains to be seen.
Production information
- By:
- Jane Austen, adapted by Tim Luscombe
- Management:
- Theatre by the Lake, in association with See it, Do it
- Cast:
- Rebecca Elliott, Amy Ewbank, Andrew Grose, James Hogg, Vanessa Johnson, Stephen Ley, Maggie Tagney, Christopher Webster
- Director:
- Ian Forest
- Design:
- Martin Johns
- Sound:
- Matt Hall
- Lighting:
- Nick Beadle
- Choreography:
- Lorelei Lynn
- Musical direction:
- Richard Atkinson, who also composes
Production information can change over the run of the show.
Run sheet
- Theatre by the Lake Keswick
- May 29-November 5 2010
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