Review Roundup: PRIDE & PREJUDICE (*SORT OF) is Now Playing in the West End; What Did the Critics Think?

Pride and Prejudice (*Sort Of), Isobel McArthur's unique and audacious retelling of Jane Austen's classic love story, is now playing at the Criterion Theatre. It was just announced that the production has extended its booking period to Sunday 17 April 2022.

Men, money and microphones are fought over in this irreverent but affectionate adaptation, which includes pop classics such as Every Day I Write the Book, Young Hearts Run Free, Will You Love Me Tomorrow, I Got You Babe and You're So Vain. Five actresses portray the young female servants who retell one of literature's most famous stories, and these same five actresses play every other character, as well as singing and playing instruments.

Let's see what the critics are saying...

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Cindy Marcolina, BroadwayWorld: McArthur paints Austen's sensitivity with muted colours, highlighting all the hypocrisy and chauvinism in brilliant, riotous comedy. The end result is a surprisingly faithful, unquestionably funny adaptation.

David Benedict, Variety: That mix of gravitas and running gags - climaxing with Burgess's marvelously put-upon Mary finally stealing her moment of glory - put the seal on the show's runaway success. Unlike "Six," it's not (quite) a musical, but this dynamite cast of five could take this rampantly delicious show into similar theatrical orbit.

Alice Saville, Independent: So McArthur, together with director Simon Harvey, punctures this story's swoonier, prettier trappings with a well-aimed feather duster. Instead of dancing, these characters sing hilariously well-chosen karaoke songs at pivotal moments (Meghan Tyler's rendition of "Lady in Red", sung to a preening Lady Catherine, is a particular highlight). Swear words pepper the air as "ladylike behaviour" becomes an ever more impossible aspiration. And the refreshment table at Meryton Ball is piled high with Irn Bru and Tunnock's wafers, instead of cucumber sandwiches - a nod to this show's origins as a 2018 hit at Glasgow's Tron Theatre.

Sarah Crompton, WhatsOnStage: I suspect you need to know Pride and Prejudice to cope with the swaps of character all this involves, but what is striking for lovers of the book is just how much emotion and affection is invested here, under all the swearing, singing and pratfalls. Four stars is probably a generous rating, but it's a generous show.

Sam Marlow, iNews: Performed by a five-strong, all-women cast, nimbly nipping between characters as well as grabbing a trumpet, harp or guitar to supply musical accompaniment, it's a madcap riot with serious brains beneath its silliness. It's touching, too, with moments of sisterly devotion and passionate sincerity among the mayhem.

Julia Rank, The Stage: It's good fun, even if the pacing feels a bit off at times and some of the gags are a tad over-indulgent. Austen's exquisitely delicate yet biting use of language is deliberately blunted and the internal becomes external. 'Good' manners are cast aside and Elizabeth rejects Mr Collins' proposal in no uncertain terms by telling him to "F off". The bleakness of the Bennet sisters' prospects if they fail to marry remains ever-present and there is tender poignancy to the way in which Charlotte Lucas (Hannah Jarrett-Scott) is in love with Elizabeth, who is oblivious to her feelings.

Arifa Akbar, The Guardian: As far as McArthur's script goes, the (*sort of) in the title is key, with comedy that is hearty and upfront in place of Austen's sly satire although it captures the essence of the book. The show, which began life at the Tron in Glasgow, has the spirit of fringe theatre and its rough-hewn, riotous nature might have sat at odds with this West End venue but it proves a natural fit with just the right balance between scrappiness and careful orchestration.

Clive Davis, The Times: There's fun a-plenty, but when you're watching Isobel McArthur's take on Jane Austen it's impossible to avoid comparisons with Laura Wade's recent foray into similar territory in her mischievous adaptation of that unfinished Austen novel, The Watsons. McArthur's script, mixing bawdy anachronisms with a sprinkling of karaoke-ish pop songs, certainly has its charms, but it's also excessively padded out. Wade was wittier and sleeker.

Marianka Swain, London Theatre: Ana Inés Jabares-Pita's effective set features a big, winding staircase stuffed with books and a dangling chandelier (yes, there's a Phantom joke), juxtaposed amusingly with the karaoke machine, and Colin Grenfell's crisp lighting cues punctuate the humour. Everything scales up nicely to fit the Criterion. Now, it's up to audiences to decide whether they need more Austen in their lives and if this production earns her triumphant happy ending.

Andrzej Lukowski, TimeOut: It's brimming with energy, but ends up feeling like a slightly MOR endeavour, an extended riff on the enduring British love of the novel rather than a revelatory deconstruction of it. A framing device about the play nominally being performed by the anonymous servants from the book doesn't really go anywhere, and the throwaway nature of the gags about Charlotte being in love with the oblivious Lizzie essentially speak to an unwillingness to interrogate the original text in any serious way. The fact the cast is entirely white also speaks of a limited desire to get out of the Austen comfort zone.

Jessie Thompson, Evening Standard: With its own cheeky charm, it throws everything at the wall. Not everything sticks: more could be made of the neat framing device that appoints the novel's unseen servants as our storytellers, and I wasn't convinced by a subplot that Charlotte Lucas is secretly in love with Elizabeth. And a bit of judicial trimming is needed - occasionally a reverence for Austen's words stops the show from zipping along.

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