Theatre Group visit to see The Watsons

I love Jane Austin and her prose is super, so it was no surprise to me that when she left an unfinished novel someone would be asked to finish it and turn it into a play. The brilliant Laura Wade stepped up and The Watsons was born. 

The play opens with a bed, in which the snoring old Mr Watson is suitably arranged and gradually a cast of characters that any aficionado of Miss Austin’s work would recognise appear. The set was simple panelled walls, a few pieces of furniture and set the scene beautifully. The music was excellent, although I thought it too loud at the beginning, impinging on the young ladies opening dialogue. There was dancing, well executed and despite the heat in the auditorium, the dialogue and delivery held my interest.

Sadly for me, when the maid became the playwright and upset the apple cart by telling the Watsons, the Osbornes, the Edwards et al that they were merely characters in a play which she was still writing, the whole piece fell apart. Naturally, the actors wanted to choose what happened to them and Ms Wade was left in limbo, in modern dress, her phone taken by the youngest member of the cast. We were then treated to modern dancing, a house phone ringing with Napoleon Bonaparte on the line and suddenly the bed became the barricades and war broke out. It was a clever idea, but in spite of the excellent direction, acting, costumes, lighting, and sound, for me it didn’t work. Rest in peace Miss Austin.

Contributed by Nikki Packham