A punched-up adaptation of the Jane Austen classic Pride and Prejudice will soon hit the Sagebrush Theatre stage as Western Canada Theatre’s latest production.
According to director Scott Bellis, the adaptation by playwright Kate Hamill maintains the core messages of the story many know and love, and many of the classic lines are intact. But where it differs is its approach to the more comedic aspects.
“It’s definitely designed for the stage, to simultaneously honour the genre of the story but also send it up at the same time,” Bellis told the Chronicle.
Bellis said there has been a “massive” injection of comedy and energy into Hamill’s play. But while the comedy has been elevated, other elements of the story have stayed the same, including its mid-regency-era setting and themes that explore the social rules du jour.
Bellis said work on the production began with research, including social norms of yore and all the social rules people had to live by at the time.
“Do the women curtsy first? Do the men bow? Take off their hats? How did people sit on chairs? We worked on that,” Bellis said.
Much like the timeless titular themes of the story, Bellis said the social themes are also timeless in a way, prompting us to question how we behave in the modern era.
“It makes you wonder what sort of rules we have to live by in the year 2025,” Bellis said.
A cast of just eight will cover a bevy of characters — 15 in all. That will mean quick changes abound and the extra element of comedy that comes with them.
“There’s a lot of that. We’ve got a lot of places where people have to change their clothes right on stage,” Bellis said.
One of those playing multiple roles is Kamloops actor Rem Murray, whose whole career came to fruition in the river city. As a young teen, Murray found himself in the ensemble cast of WCT’s Fiddler on the Roof in 2013, where he said he fell in love with acting.
Murray later attended Thompson Rivers University, where he studied acting and affirmed his love for it through the school’s theatre arts program.
“As I was going through my degree I kind of just felt like everything else I was studying doesn’t interest me nearly as much as acting did,” Murray said.
He’s been working on and off ever since, landing roles in a few other WCT productions, including The Wizard of Oz, Hurry Hard, Grease and Shrek the Musical.
“Every time I’m able to act in this town, it makes me feel very proud,” he said.
Murray is the only local cast member, joined by stage and screen actor Greg Armstrong-Morris, Kate Besworth, Merewyn Comeau, Dylan Floyde, Chris Walters, Melissa Oei and WCT veteran Anita Wittenberg, who has at least nine credits with the company.
Another local can be found on the play’s creative team. Kamloops’ own Lukas Vanderlip is once again heading up sound design and musical arrangements.
Although Murray understudied for a play at the Chemainus Theatre Festival, Murray has yet to take the stage outside of Kamloops. But soon, that will change, with WCT taking Pride and Prejudice on the road, set to play at the Gateway Theatre in Richmond from April 17 to April 26, following its run in Kamloops.
But before that run, Murray is even more excited to hit the stage as strange Bennet daughter Mary and as the lovable Mr. Bingley, his two assigned roles.
Pride and Prejudice opens on April 3, running until April 13 at the Sagebrush Theatre. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. for evening shows, 2 p.m. for weekend matinees. For tickets and additional show information, go online to wctlive.ca/pride.