Canberra REP has transitioned to digital programs, phasing out our colour printed A5 booklets at the end of Season 2024.
Please note that the complimentary flyer is designed as a Play Bill - more information is available below.
LIZZY, DARCY & JANE
by Joanna Norland
director Alexandra Pelvin
An Amateur production By Arrangement with ORiGiN (TM) Theatrical on behalf of Samuel french Inc. A Concord Theatricals Company
CAST • CREATIVES • PRODUCTION • TEAMS • DONORS | SUPPORTERS
SYNOPSIS
A tale where reality and fiction collide.
Young Jane Austen creates Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy in the flush of first love. But when Jane’s real-life romance falls apart, she rewrites fate — dooming Lizzy to Mr Collins and herself to misery. Now, Elizabeth must take matters into her own hands. Lizzy, Darcy & Jane is a witty, imaginative collision of author and character, where the lines between life and literature blur — and only one woman can write the ending.
ACT I
Scene l | January 1796. evening. The ballroom in the home of the Bigg-withers
Scene 2 | The following morning. The parlour in the Austen's home
ACT II
December 1802. Evening. The drawing room in the home of the Bigg-Withers
RUN TIME
120 minutes - plus one 20 minute interval
Bar service available up to 5 minutes before start of ACT I, at interval & after the performance
PRODUCTION WARNING
There are no production warnings for this production
DIRECTOR'S NOTES • Alexandra Pelvin
This year we celebrate the 250th birthday of Jane Austen – a milestone that reminds us just how alive and relevant her work still is. Of all her novels, Pride and Prejudice remains the jewel in the crown, beloved by millions across the world. It’s a book that never seems to fade: witty, romantic, sharply observed, and endlessly re-readable. Between this, and the film and television adaptations (beloved in their own right!), taking on a play that dares to peek behind the curtain of Pride and Prejudice is both thrilling and, I’ll admit, a little nerve-wracking. How do you approach something that so many people already love so much?
Joanna Norland’s Lizzy, Darcy & Jane offers a wonderful answer. Rather than attempting yet another retelling, the play imagines how Pride and Prejudice may have come to life. Here, Jane Austen shares the stage with her own creations: Elizabeth Bennet, Mr Darcy, and others step out of the pages of her imagination and into her world. It’s a clever, funny, and at times deeply moving piece that explores the parallels between Austen’s own experiences and the story she was writing.
What I find so special is the way the play captures Austen’s written wit and sparkle, while also reminding us of the woman behind the words. She was not just the icon we know today, but a young woman navigating love, loss, and the expectations of her time. By bringing Jane herself into the story, Norland invites us to see Pride and Prejudice in a new light – not just as a timeless romance, but as the creation of someone who knew all too well the joys and disappointments of life.
I’ve been incredibly lucky to work with such a talented cast and creative team. They are clever, committed, and endlessly inventive – a dream to collaborate with. Together, we’ve worked hard to bring both the Regency world and Austen’s modern, timeless humour to the stage in a way that feels fresh, energetic, and full of heart.
As you watch Lizzy, Darcy & Jane, I hope you’re drawn into this meeting of fact and fiction – where Austen herself sits side by side with her most famous heroine, and where imagination and reality intertwine. Whether you’re a lifelong Austen devotee or meeting her work for the first time, may this play remind you of her genius, her courage, and above all, her incomparable wit.
What better way to celebrate her 250th birthday than to bring her words – and her world – to life once again?
PLAYWRIGHT • Joanna Norland
Joanna Norland is a Canadian playwright and writing coach based in East Sussex, UK. Her one-act play Mothers have Nine Lives premiered in the 1992 Young Playwrights Festival at Playwrights Horizons in New York. Her short play Lydia Reconsiders, championing the rebellious Lydia Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, was a finalist in the National 10-minute play contest sponsored by the Actors Theatre of Louisville. Lizzy, Darcy and Jane premiered at the Bath Jane Austen festival in 2006, originally under the working title Jane Austen Makes a Match. It subsequently has had runs all over the world, including Denmark and Norway. She has a BA from Brown University and a M.Phil from King’s College Cambridge. She writes about the intersection between parenthood and writing on her website mumswrite.com, leading writing workshops in schools, libraries and professional settings as well as working as a picture book editor and writing coach.
compiled by Simon Tolhurst
