[THEATRE REVIEW] PRIDE AND PREJUDICE @ Malthouse Theatre Review (2026)
What a weapon invective is in Bloomshed’s delightful, fun-filled, hilarious take on Pride and Prejudice.
The basic ingredients are there, but the twists are delicious and enormously satisfying in what is a social satire dressed as a period drama.
For starters, Mr Bennet is a withering plant (a potted monstera) that Mrs Bennet carries around and fawns over.
And one of her five daughters, Kitty, is played by a male, who is ignored and sidelined by Mrs Bennet. Later, she is dispatched to the Antipodes.
The story is that of the Bennets, who live at Longbourn Estate in Hertfordshire (country folk, as they are known).
Mr Bennet is not well. You might say he is “rooted”, if you excuse the pun.
Mrs Bennet is desperately trying to marry off her offspring to secure their future, should Mr Bennet not survive, as appears increasingly likely.
As Mr Bennet has no male heir, the estate will automatically fall into the hands of Mr Collins, a clergyman and Mr Bennet’s distant second cousin.
The eldest of the Bennett girls, Jane, 23, is introduced to rich bachelor George Bingley, who rents the neighbouring Netherfield Estate.
Love blossoms, but then there is a twist, which leaves her inconsolable.
Mr Bingley’s friend Mr Darcy is not nearly as agreeable as Mr Bingley.
Haughty, with his rough putdowns he quickly manages to get on the wrong side of the second of the Bennet daughters, whip smart 21-year-old Elizabeth.
She is also in the sight of two others, persistent cleric Collins and self-centred army officer George Wickham, who blindsides her.
So it is that affairs of the heart can be fickle and surprising, as Jane, Elizabeth and the other Bennet children will find out.
I should add that Mary is stuck in a goth phase, while Lydia, 16, hits it off with a scurrilous man in uniform.
As for Kitty, striking out on her own may well be the best thing for her.
The eight strong cast, six of whom fill dual roles, are uniformly strong and polished.
Put simply, they shine as they deliver laughs aplenty.
Hijinks abound and the farcical finds favour.
As Elizabeth Bennet, Elizabeth Brennan is feisty and contrary, while James Jackson portrays arrogance and entitlement as Mr Darcy.
John Marc Desengano flits about as Charles Bingley and then stands in judgment as Mr Darcy’s overbearing aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
Emily Carr displays increasing desperation as Mrs Bennet, while also filling the part of Mr Darcy’s young sister Georgina.
Lauren Swain embraces the darkness inherent in Mary Bennet and the gadabout scoundrel in George Wickham.
Anna Louey is frenzied as “the pretty” Jane Bennet and surprises as the skull wielding, sickly Anne de Bourgh, daughter of Lady Catherine.
There is a childish vitality about Laura Aldous’ realisation of Lydia Bennet and a snobbishness in capturing the essence of Charles Bingley’s younger sister, Caroline.
Syd Brisbane is a rolled gold hoot as the downtrodden, excluded Kitty and the less than saintly man of the cloth.
Pouting and exaggeration are par for the course – delivered in such a way as to maximise enjoyment for us, the audience.
While most of the play takes place on and around a massive birthday cake that dominates the stage, breaking the fourth wall helps elevate the spectacle.
And what a spectacle par excellence it is, aided by Savanna Wegman’s striking set and Samantha Hastings’ audacious costuming.
Ninety minutes without interval, Pride and Prejudice takes quite the turn and then some in Bloomshed’s wild and witty presentation.
I dare say that even Jane Austen, barely aged 20 when she started writing the classic, would leave with a smirk on her face were she with us today.
Under the skilled artistic direction of Dean Bryant, Pride and Prejudice is on at Merlyn Theatre at Malthouse Theatre until 23rd May, 2026.
Review by Alex First Photography by Simon Fazio