Northanger Abbey

‘Northanger Abbey’, an adaptation of the Classic by Jane Austen, is being presented by Arena Arts and Entertainment Inc. at The Old Mill Theatre, Mends Street, South Perth until 17^th October and later for a week at the Phoenix Theatre, on the Corner of Rockingham Road and Carrington Street, Hamilton Hill until the 31^st October. All shows at 8.00 pm with two Sunday matinees at 2.00 pm.

         The voice of the author (Bonnie Coyle) sets the mood beautifully, as we are introduced to the young Catherine Morland (Michelle Berg) who is travelling to Bath with the Allens. The effervescent Mrs Allen (Jane Sherwood) and her sick husband (Ray Rummer) who is going to ‘take the waters’ for his gout.

        Later at a ball with her friend Isabella (Jessica Messenger), Catherine meets a dashing man, Henry Tilney (Jesse Way). Her teenage hormones are stirred in a way never before experienced, her only pleasure until this point had been in reading Ann Radcliffe’s series of romance books. She was especially enthralled by the ‘Mysteries of Udolpho’, a scary book with the man of her dreams as the main character. Just as she hopes to impress her dancing partner, Henry, the lecherous and bullying, John Thorpe (Tim Burrows) appears and snatches her away. Catherine takes an instant dislike to him, but has trouble escaping his clutches. Meanwhile, Isabella as fallen madly in love with Catherine’s brother James (Jordan Sibley).

        To her joy, Catherine is invited down to the Tilney family home, Northanger Abbey. It is all she expected, creepy and decaying, with an old hag servant, Dorothy (Cally Zanik) – a place just like Udolpho! Here she meets General Tilney, Henry’s father (Simon James), being down to his last penny, his eyes light up when he falsely hears from John Thorpe of her immense wealth. Henry’s sister, Eleanor helps Catherine settle in and protects her from the General.

         Will Catherine ever win Henry’s heart? Will Isabella be happily married to James or will the obnoxious, unctuous Colonel Fredrick Tilney win her over?

Whereas Jane Austen wrote the story with a fine mix of deep tragedy and humour, the recent BBC series was very dark, almost devoid of all humour. In this adaptation of the classic by Tim Luscombe the opposite approach has been carried out. The depressing cruelty and disregard for feelings has been greatly omitted and the full depth of the humour brought to the fore. This is an extremely funny play and yet the feel of the period and the rich quality of the original story has been maintained.

My initial feeling at seeing this wonderful play, being tackled so soon after the TV series, was that the director must be mad; he will never do it justice. How wrong can one be? Theo Messenger’s direction is magnificent. You can only be staggered at the amount of work that has gone into this production.

Despite the fact that the set is simple, it consists mainly of white muslin drapes – being Mrs Allen’s favourite cloth, it must have brought joy to her heart – the complex lighting design (Mario Piccoli) sensitively operated, with just the correct level of illumination and tint, made the plain stage everything from the countryside to a ballroom, come alive. The one wench-power, open carriage rides were simply produced, but most convincing.

The costumes are of outstanding quality (Tarryn Bullock and Kelly van Geest). The sound design (Danni Close) was certainly the best I have experienced for many months. From tremendous storms, to a sunny ride in the countryside, the sound track was multifaceted, beautifully recorded and edited, but most importantly played at the correct volume.

The choice of music was perfect, with the variety ranging from subtle incidental and mood music, right up to the stirring ‘Entry of the Queen of Sheba’. The ballroom scene had several dancers, who gracefully and competently danced quadrilles and old-fashioned formation dances.

 The whole production is slightly tongue in cheek, as the huge amount of humour is carefully delivered with the dialogue still in the original classical style. When Catherine asked Henry if he would like to help take her puppies out, one can only smile and wonder if Luscombe intended the line, then when she did the audience couldn’t believe their eyes!

The cast with fabulous body language, and some deliberate use of the ‘over dramatic’ ham style, had the audience laughing for the whole show.

Although the whole cast were inspired, I must give a special mention to Jesse Way and Michelle Berg. Michelle deftly took us through from the early heart-fluttering moments to heartbreak and despondency.

I went expecting a dry and somewhat tedious evening, but left overwhelmed at the quality of this production and totally uplifted by the performances. If you are between 15 and 105, try and see the play at one of the two venues – you will love it.