BWW Interviews: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE's David Oakes

If you go down to the park today, you're in for a big surprise - this summer, the Open Air Theatre will be Pemberley, and David Oakes is its master, everyone's favourite Jane Austen hero, Mr Darcy.

You might have seen Oakes on television over the past few weeks, as George Plantagenet in the BBC's new Sunday night serial The White Queen - and now he's donning the tight trousers made famous most recently by the likes of Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen.

"There is a huge precedent," he admits. "But that does mean the characterisation is quite easy to do - you can't try to be a very different kind of Darcy - he's just the epitome of the period!"

As well as The White Queen, he's also been seen on the small screen in The Borgias.

"I do like period drama!" he says. "I got a taste of it and it was something I wanted to pursue. In period drama, people forgive you a lot more for expressing emotion than they do in modern drama.

"Having said that, Darcy doesn't do that - he's very restrained, but he can still be charming."

And how's he enjoying working in Regent's Park?

"It's a blast so far," he says, enthusing about the picnic lunches, the company, the creatives, and the brilliance of the set. "I just want to go on now!"

But what about the great British weather? Is he worried about being caught in a rain storm on stage?

He laughs. "If it rains, you get Mr Darcy in his wet shirt. That's what everyone wants, isn't it?"

David Oakes stars in Pride and Prejudice at the Open Air Theatre.

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