Where would the British entertainment industry be without
Jane Austen, I often wonder? Or period dramas in general.
Well then, here’s to the umpteenth Jane Austen adaptation. This time it’s
Northanger Abbey (Austen’s first full-length novel) and it has been adapted for the stage by John Cooper.
Northanger Abbey incorporates elements of yet another classic masterpiece, namely
Ann Radcliffe’s 18th century Gothic bestseller
The Mysteries Of Udolpho - thus turning Austen’s work into a pastiche. Although
Northanger Abbey starts as a parody of the Gothic novel, it gradually progresses into more realistic realms by satirising Regency society. It furthermore delves into deeper psychological studies of its protagonists.
The main character is Catherine Morland (Victoria Emslie), an impressionable and somewhat naïve young girl with an overactive imagination, who makes her debut into fashionable Bath society. There, she encounters the calculating and beautiful Isabella Thorpe (an exuberant Anna Passey) and her brother John (Fergus Rees), as well as various suitors. Later, she receives an invite from the Tilney family and removes to the secluded and mysterious Northanger Abbey in Gloucestershire, where her imagination really takes flight and the goings-on around her seem to mirror the melodramas in
Mysteries Of Udolpho (her favoured literature). Catherine must learn the difference between fiction and reality and between false and true friendship - it is therefore also a coming of age story. In the end, and after her disappointment with the dishonest Captain Tilney, she finds true love with his brother Henry (dashingly played by Oliver King).
It could be argued that the Udolpho sub-plot is underused in this fringe production. Since Austen’s novel is meant to be a send-up of the excessively long and convoluted Gothic potboilers of the time, director Harry Meacher effectively highlights the relevant extracts by staging them in re-enacted, mock-Grand Guignol style parodies. By keeping the Udolpho sub-plot to a minimum, he sets the emphasis on the main story and in a theatre production, that’s how it works best.
The acting is good throughout and Victoria Emslie as ‘almost-heroine’ Catherine Morland gives a suitably understated performance, while the rest of the cast are in equally good form. While the first act focuses on introducing us to the various characters, it’s the second act that sees the action unfold, interspersed with satirical humour. Despite the venue’s restrictive stage, Bryan Hands singular set cleverly displays the essential visuals of both worlds by applying multi-functional painted backdrops.
However, as far as the overall result is concerned, a slightly more adventurous and risqué approach might have offered a refreshing take on the safe and predictable adaptations that Traffic Of The Stage costume dramas usually tend to be.
Northanger Abbey runs at Upstairs At The Gatehouse, Highgate Village, N6.Tues - Sat 7.45pm / Sunday 4pm (until May 14th)Box-office: 020 8340 3488 www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com
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