Last night James and I went to watch Sense & Sensibility performed by the Chapterhouse Theatre Company, as guests of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens which are hosting several outdoor theatre performances this summer.
I am a huge Jane Austen fan – with my daughter’s names robbed from Pride & Prejudice how could I resist going to see a performance of another of her brilliant novels. Sense & Sensibility is a charming, witty, tale of two sisters and their slightly complex love lives, and this adaption is just wonderful.
The audience were laughing out loud throughout the performance, as Laura Turner’s adaptation retains much of the humour of the novel, and the actors did it justice with their comic timing, hilarious facial expressions and exaggerated mannerisms.
Outdoor theatre is a favourite of mine as it has it’s own challenges for the cast; coping with a limited set, many cast members playing several parts in turn, and of course dealing with the weather. It did rain on us and they carried on regardless despite the fact they must have been so cold and wet! They didn’t break character once throughout the show, including when the resident peacock tried to steal it by sneaking up to their audience to steal picnic nibbles.
The Dashwood sisters have great chemistry with this casting; Flora Sowerby as Elinor and Hannah Miller as Marianne are really brilliant together and portray a very realistic sisterly relationship on the stage; with affection, frustration, and devotion.
At times it was difficult to hear what was said, as it got very windy at one point and the birds in the nearby aviary were going a bit crazy at times, but they did well in the circumstances. James, who is unfamiliar with the story, managed to follow it well enough and found it very funny. Anybody who knows the novel or has seen a film or TV adaptation will have had no problems filling in the occasional blanks in dialogue when they were drowned out by the bird squawks or rustling trees.
Overall it was really enjoyable to watch; an excellent adaptation of a wonderful story well acted in the utterly beautiful surroundings of the Botanical Gardens. I am itching to go back to the gardens soon with the children and my camera to explore.
Chapterhouse Theatre Company will also be performing Peter Pan, The Railway Children and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the gardens this summer, as well as performing all their productions including Sense & Sensibility in gardens throughout the country.
I go to the gardens regularly and have an annual pass. Its a lovely place for kids. I haven’t yet made it to a show there but i would love to at some point.