Susie Barrett Archives - North West End UK

Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) – Festival Theatre

23Apr

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) – Festival Theatre

Accomplished Scottish writer, actor and director, Isobel McArthur, has taken the old adage, while the cats away the mice will play and crafted an absolute winner in Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of). It is hilarious and superbly performed by an ensemble of talented actors. Costume changes happen as if Houdini were channeled (or maybe Derren Brown with his clever psychology and hypnotism). Characters leave the stage and re-enter at the speed of light, transformed into a newly minted persona! It is brilliant! It is funny! It is hugely entertaining and modern. Of course, the occasional black-out and the odd bit of glitter ball dancing all elevate the fun, thanks to the lighting designer, Colin Grenfell. The cast can sing, dance and act their socks off and when this is combined with an...

The Ballad of Maria Marten – Wilton’s Music Hall

Set in the 1820’s, writer Beth Flintoff and Artistic Director Ivan Cutting were keen to tell this age-old story of the death of Maria Marten from the viewpoint of the victim. The story has been told in many ways previously, but tended to look at the murderer, William Corder, rather than taking an interest in Maria Marten’s life. Maria (Elizabeth Crarer), lived in a small rural village called Polstead where she had grown up in poverty losing her mother at an early age. This led to her looking after the house at age 10, until her father met and married Ann (Sarah Goddard) who was kindly and took over many of these tasks, so that Maria could finally have a childhood. She played with her friends who formed a club called the ‘hazard club’, in which they dared each oth...

The Ballad of Maria Marten – The Lowry

Theatre is at its best when it can retell a story in a new dynamic, a new setting or with a new spin. All of the above are true of Beth Flintoff’s adaptation; The Ballad of Maria Marten which tells the true story of a harrowing true crime which took place in 1827. The Red Barn Murder which occurred in Suffolk saw Maria Marten shot and then buried for over a year before her body was discovered, but this play doesn’t focus on just her death but more a celebration of her life and it’s incredibly captivating as a result. Directed by Hal Chambers, this play doesn’t feel like a murder mystery nor does it feel like a dark crime drama, it’s inviting and makes a statement that Maria Marten’s murder is not her defining life moment; she had a life - she loved, she laughed, and it’s a clever rew...