Pride and Prejudice (Bloomshed), at Darebin Arts Centre and touring) - 90 minutes, without interval

What a weapon invective is in Bloomshed’s 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 (yes, a potted monstera, in fact) that Mrs Bennet carries around and fawns over.

Photos by Sarah Walker

And one of the five daughters, Kitty, is played by a male, who is ignored and sidelined by Mrs Bennet, and takes refuge in the antipodes. Take that to read Australia.

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.

Mrs Bennet is desperately trying to marry off her five daughters to secure their futures as Mr Bennet is unlikely to survive.

As Mr Bennet has no male offspring, the estate will automatically fall into the hands of Mr Collins, a clergyman and Mr Bennet’s distant second cousin.

At a ball, the eldest of the Bennet girls, Jane, 23, is introduced to rich bachelor Mr Bingley, who rents the neighbouring Netherfield Estate.

Mr Bingley’s friend Mr Darcy is not nearly as agreeable as Bingley.

Haughty, with his rough putdowns he quickly manages to get on the wrong side of the second of the Bennet daughters, smart 21-year-old Elizabeth.

She is the target of two others, a persistent minister Collins and self-centred army officer George Wickham, who blindsides her.

But affairs of the heart can be fickle and surprising, as Jane, Elizabeth and the other Bennet children will find out.

I should add that, in this case, Mary is stuck in a goth phase, while Lydia hits it off with a uniformed man.

As for Kitty, striking out on her own may well be the best thing for her.

The eight strong cast, some of whom fill multiple roles, is uniformly strong.

They are polished and deliver laughs aplenty, as hijinks abound.

Each has their time to shine as the farcical finds favour with the bizarre and outrageous.

James Malcher flits about as Mr Bingley and then stands in judgment as Mr Darcy’s overbearing aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

Syd Brisbane is unforgettable as the downtrodden 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, audience interplay helps elevate the spectacle.

And what a spectacle par excellence it is, aided by Savanna Wegman’s striking set and Samantha Hastings’ audacious costuming.

I don’t think I will ever see Pride and Prejudice the same way again. I dare say that even its author, Jane Austen, then barely aged 20, would leave with a smirk on her face.

Well directed by James Jackson and Elizabeth Brennan, Bloomshed’s production was playing at Darebin Arts Centre.

It next moves to Geelong Arts Centre on August 15^th and 16^th, before going onto the Canberra Theatre Centre between October 15^th and 18^th, 2025.