Sense & Sensibility | Marlowe Players

July 22, 2014 to July 26, 2014

By Roger Parsley & Andy Graham, based on the novel by Jane Austen

Directed by Andrea White

Left in straitened circumstances when their father dies, the Dashwood sisters are forced to leave their family home. They are befriended by their Aunt Jennings, who is determined to find husbands for them in London Society. The younger, Marianne, trusting to her sensibilities, falls passionately in love with the dashing, but untrustworthy, Willoughby, while Eleanor applies her sense to her feelings for the seemingly unattainable Edward Ferrars.

Cast

Elinor Dashwood ...................................... Amy Law
Marianne Dashwood ........................... Claire Stewart
Lucy Steele ....................................... Jenny Cooper
Aunt Jennings ................................ Marjorie Howarth
Edward Ferrers ................................. Rob Hodkinson
Willoughby .......................................... Simon Paget
Colonel Brandon ................................. Mark Pardner

For The Marlowe Players

Stage Manager…………………...............…………..Janet Townes
Properties ….…………………............……………..Niamh Mourton
Continuity …………………..….........……………………. Sue Orme
Set Design/Build ...…........................... Mike Asprey, Vince Morris
Lighting …….......…………………………………….. Steve Cooper
Sound …….............….....….................…………… Stuart Mourton
Costume ….......……..………..…..………. Andrea White, Ann Lea
Front of House …….........….......................... Martin & Suzi Illston

A hot summer evening is the perfect setting for this perennial romantic comedy of manners, performed impeccably by the Marlowe Players. A captivated audience hung on every word of this excellent production. Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are two sisters who, upon the death of their father, worry about their future. Their predicament is complicated by the arrival of a succession of gentlemen who all in some way complicate things further: the quietly dutiful Edward, the dashing, carefree Willoughby, and the curt, intense Colonel Brandon. The plot thickens as young Lucy Steele enters the story, which is swept along by the amusing machinations of Aunt Jennings, matchmaker extraordinaire. This sharply observed, passionate and moving commentary on 18th century courtships is renowned for having richly detailed, interesting characters that require carefully directed performances to bring it to life, and is not easily staged.

The Marlowe Players have risen gloriously to the challenge. Perceptive, intricate characterisation is brought to full-blooded life through finely measured direction and rigorous rehearsal. From Amy Law’s magnificently controlled, emotional Elinor to Claire Stewart’s brash, heartfelt and spirited Marianne, Marjorie Howarth’s uproarious Aunt Jennings to Simon Paget’s charming, duplicitous Willoughby, from Rob Hodkinson’s shy, devoted Edward to Mark Pardner’s mournful, steadfast Brandon, every single performance is exceptional, testament to the precise and intuitive hard work of the cast. Congratulations also to director Andrea White and the rest of the group, for adding imaginative dramatic flourishes to this period piece, creating a fresh, engaging take on a classic story. Unreservedly recommended.

Kevin Redfern, Derby Evening Telegraph

July 22 2014