BETC's Season 13 Kicks Off With Brilliant New Version of PRIDE & PREJUDICE

Playwright Kate Hamill is everywhere these days. She was one of the top-ten most produced playwrights of the last year and was named 2017 Playwright of the Year by the Wall Street Journal. Her adaptations of classics like Vanity Fair and Sense and Sensibility have garnered productions and awards across the country and her latest adaptation of Little Women is scheduled for a New York premiere in the coming months. Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company (BETC) is delighted to bring this acclaimed playwright to Boulder by presenting the regional premiere of another of her adaptations, Jane Austen's beloved classic, Pride & Prejudice.

The plot of Hamill's adaptation is very true to that of the original Austen novel, tracing the trials and tribulations of the Bennet sisters in their pursuit of love and matrimony. However, by using a healthy dose of theatricality and a pinch of absurdity, Hamill turns the story into a deeper exploration of social and gender issues pertaining to Austen's time, and our own.

Speaking about her adaptation, Hamill said, "I'm a feminist playwright, I make female-centered stories; and I specialize in progressive, highly theatrical adaptations of the classics. I'm a big believer that you shouldn't write plays - or indeed make any piece of art - without a strong point of view. Pride & Prejudice is perhaps Jane Austen's best-known novel; that means people come in with a lot of expectations about the story. If I want to create something - in collaboration with Jane - that surprises audiences and creates a true piece of theater, not just some reworking of a novel, my point of view has to be very strong indeed! I also wanted to explore how people treat love as if it's a very serious, high stakes game - with rules, wins, and losses. My Pride & Prejudice is thus loosely written as a screwball comedy: with all of the romance of the novel, viewed through farce's high stakes, fast pace, and strong structure. Because, after all, what turns us into sillier fools than the serious game of love?"

Director Rebecca Remaly has honed in on this idea of "games" as the centerpiece of her interpretation of the play. BETC's production will feature references to a variety of games, classic and modern, as part of the overall aesthetic. Remaly said, "My love and admiration for Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice encompasses the novel, both the BBC mini-series and 2005 film, as well as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Bride and Prejudice, Death Comes to Pemberley, and Bridget Jones' Diary. The novel is both a literary masterpiece and a funny, clever, heart-warming, and entertaining romp. Kate Hamill's stage adaptation epitomizes the staying power of this wonderful story. I think Jane Austen would approve entirely.

Pride & Prejudice is BETC's first show of Season 13, and further solidifies their commitment to bringing the best contemporary plays to a local audience. Talkbacks with the cast will be featured after most performances and a Skype conversation with the playwright will take place following the performance on October 5.

For more information on the show and to purchase tickets visit: https://betc.org/event/pride/,

Pride & Prejudice, Adapted by Kate Hamill from the novel by Jane Austen

September 15 - October 7, 2018
Dairy Arts Center, Boulder

Tickets: www.betc.org or 303-444-7328

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