Above : Cast and crew of GTC’s production of The Complete Works of Jane Austen Abridged
This wonderful repertoire company has a winner on their hands again when three actors take on all of Austen’s beloved heroines, friends and love interests in her incisive social satire, all in 80 minutes. But when they lose a cast member, the two remaining ‘Janeites’ must teach an understudy about her work.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that an audience in possession of high spirits must be in want of a ticket to this big-hearted comedy that certainly knocked-the-socks-off Austen fans and newcomers such as your reviewer. If you were not a ‘Janeite’ at the beginning of the performance, you were certainly inscribed on your way to becoming one by the end. The play is a delight, wholly charming, original and for this newbie , i couldn’t stop smiling. Its an affectionate tribute to the author whose characters live indelibly in the minds of the readers all over the globe. The show’s real charm lies in its delicate negotiation between homage and parody.
The originators of this creative theatrical fun are a quartet of very clever ladies- Jessica Bedford, Katherine-MacMillan, Charlotte Northeast and Meghan Winch concocted this work over meetings with cheese and wine.
In this fast-paced romp, three actors take on all of the roles as the Protagonists and the Deuteragonists. Georgia Britt playing Charlotte and Georgia, Heidi Jilwan plays Jessica and Heidi and Peter Hoekstra- Bass plays Trevor, Harry and Peter. They raise the roof with their timing and devastatingly funny delivery, tackling the entire canon of Jane Austen’s works. These funny, nimble actors mine the depth of each character they portray with skill that had the audience laughing throughout. The audience at times act as active participants in the show, a truly labor of love as the show tells the audience just enough info about Austen to avoid overload. Our trio skewer the exact depth to cleverly represent the author’s work. Whether you’re a super fan or just dipping your feet into the pool of of her classic novels, like myself…or maybe you secretly wish to root for Mansfield Park, its impossible not to have fun with this performance. I found myself, as did the audience laughing out loud and clapping with delight, and leaning in, despite my lack of prior knowledge.
This production is a most proper and oh so wickedly delicious opus of comedic manners for lovers of all things Jane Austen and the “Regency Era Splendour.” In short this production says what we’ve all thought at one time or another, about the works, about the truths they highlighted, and about how little has changed in the affairs of men and women, despite how much has changed in our world since these stories were written. Its a cocktail of iterary truths with a repertoire of new-age references that connect the dots of Jane Austen stories and the truths of the everywoman. Director Ali Bendall along with Production Stage Manager Natalie Hughes bring us the heart of Jane through the minds of her characters. The Genesian Theatre Company have offered a satirical spark that make us enjoy the vintage and richness of these books allowing through the fabulous work of our actors the themes at the centre of the stories to rise to the surface.
Why do we love the heroines? It surly isn’t just for the antiquated garb and dense verbiage, but because we enjoy these stories that set the stage for the conversations and the clever juggling between the small cast. Jane’s fandom is embodied in the performance of Heidi (Heidi Jilwan) who is giddy and gossipy, Trevor/ Harry/ Peter’s role (Peter Hoekstra-Bass) is riddled with comedic brilliance, bumbling grace appropriate for the newbie he is. Georgia (Georgia Britt) invokes by body language extra layers to the story
The production team; costumes by Susan Carveth, sound by Ali Bendall and Cian Byrne and lighting by Cian Byrne collectively and cleverly don’t allow the satire to cross into the irreverent and make a mockery out of the things it claims to revere. They manage to put the microscope over Jane Austen’s work bringing out the fondness and idiosyncrasies of the characters stirring the underbelly with upbeat remarks, such as, about female anatomy and clothing that gave women of the time “great tits”. In short, this winning production is a fun spoof and highly recommended .
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JANE AUSTEN ABRIDGED is playing the Genesian Theatre, St Joseph’s Church Hall, 2b Gordon Street, Rozelle until Saturday 22nd August 2026.
For performance times and tickets visit : https://genesian.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/156274
