As someone who likes to think they’re fairly au fait (or at least familiar!) with the works of our country’s greatest writers – Dickens, Orwell, Austen – I jolly well trotted along to The Riverfront in Newport on Friday night for my fill of culture. The Jane Austen play on the stage before me, however, was the likes of which I’d never seen before!
The delightful ladies and gentleman of the Austentatious cast brought us a wonderfully quirky, improvised Austen-style performance, aptly named by a chosen audience member as ‘Delight and Discombobulation’.
Discombobulation and delight certainly summed up my feelings for the production to a T! As the production began, and the winning title was selected, I was well and truly discombobulated.
I must admit I’ve never seen an improvised play before so I didn’t fully know what to expect, but as the show began, it certainly caused me a few raised eyebrows. I soon settled into the flow of things though and, amongst hearty laughter, found myself feeling joyfully delighted and willing for the main protagonists to declare their love for one another.
Austentatious certainly offers a light-hearted and uplifting evening of fun. Each member of the cast was absolutely fantastic, throwing themselves fully into their improvised characters. I urge you, if this production comes to a theatre near you, go and check it out.
Images: Robert Viglasky
The full version of this review appears on wereviewedthis.co.uk
About Arts Scene in Wales: