2 days ago
Death Comes to Pemberley review — bloody deeds and country dances
In this murder mystery the stately characters are familiar with the intricacies of country dance steps, and one is even willing to try his hand at an Italian aria. There's no shortage of period atmosphere in Duncan Abel and Rachel Wagstaff's adaptation of PD James's journey into the realm of Pride and Prejudice, even if the plot tends to meander towards a genteel conclusion.
Abel and Wagstaff, who are best known for their stage versions of The Girl on the Train and The Da Vinci Code, have here collaborated on a more low-key venture, directed by Jonathan O'Boyle, which is the first touring production mounted by that resourceful Berkshire dinner theatre venue, the Mill at Sonning. It made a reasonably snug fit at Windsor Theatre Royal, thanks in part to Sean Cavanagh's discreet set design, which uses sliding panels to ease the transition from the staid domestic interiors to the Pemberley estate where a bloody deed on a suitably dark and stormy night prompts the arrival of Todd Boyce's quizzical magistrate Sir Selwyn Hardcastle. Suspicion immediately falls on that handsome ne'er-do-well George Wickham.
Jane Austen admirers will no doubt be hoping to hear from a firm and manly Darcy, and James Bye (who recently bowed out of EastEnders as Martin Fowler) duly obliges, although the script doesn't allow much in the way of conversational duelling with his demure wife, Elizabeth, played by Jamie-Rose Duke. Sam Woodhams makes an exceptionally chiselled, bare-chested Wickham and doubles as the ailing young local Will Bidwell.
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It's never going to be easy to replace the authorial voice of Austen or James; the pace often sags as the leisurely investigation unfolds. Sarah Berger, though, supplies a pinch of wry humour as the perpetually indignant Lady Catherine de Bourgh, a doughty matron who is determined to put everyone in their place. David Osmond's piano score adds a welcome touch of elegance too. Osmond had also been due to play the character of the gently pining Henry Alveston, but his place was taken at the last moment by Joe Bence, who more than rose to the challenge. He deserved all that applause.★★★☆☆
140 minutes
Touring to Sep 13,
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