PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
By Jon Jory
Adapted from the novel by Jane Austen
November 14 - 30, 2013
Directed by Lois Anderson
Frederic Wood Theatre
6354 Crescent Rd.
UBC MAP: http://bit.ly/94dLm6
University of British Columbia
Vancouver CANADA
CURTAIN: 7:30 p.m.
TICKETS: Reg. $22/Senior $15/Student $10/Youth $2/
Groups $2 off ~ plus service charges
$7 Preview: Nov. 13
Talk Back: Wed. Nov. 20
Come to opening night Nov. 14 in costume (Regency period or Pride and Prejudice Zombie) and you’re eligible to book a student priced ticket: $10 (plus charges)!
Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen fans hold onto your bonnets as all the wit and romance of Austen’s novel come to life in this fast-paced and engaging new adaptation. In a society where manners and birth mean everything, can Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy look beyond pride and prejudice? High-spirited and heartfelt, Theatre at UBC’s production will delight Austen aficionados and win new fans for this story of improbable love.
Rave review for Pride and Prejudice from Samuel Cohn Cousineau on the UBCEvents blog
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CKNW’s Michael Eckford interviews director Lois Anderson about Pride and Prejudice
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Christine Lee tells listeners about her tour behind the scenes for Pride and Prejudice on CiTR — ArtsReport
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Zafira Rajan reviews Pride and Prejudice for Her Campus, UBC
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The Ubyssey’s Kanta Dihal interviews BFA student actors and designers from Pride and Prejudice
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Laureen McMahon previews Pride and Prejudice in The Campus Resident
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UBC This Week for Nov 18-22 visits the set of Pride and Prejudice
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Jon Jory, President's Chair, Performing Arts Department, Santa Fe University of Art and Design
“...this play, the way it disarms you so that you can go a little deeper inside it is to charm you.”
– Jon Jory
As the producing director at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Jon Jory directed more than 125 plays and produced more than 1,000 plays during his 32-year tenure. He conceived the internationally lauded Humana Festival of New American Plays, the SHORTS Festival, and the Brown-Forman Classics in Context Festival. He was also the artistic founding director of Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Conn., and he has been inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
He was also the artistic founding director of Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Conn., and he has been inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
Jory has directed professionally in nine countries. In the United States, he has directed productions at many regional theatres, including Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage; San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater; Hartford Stage in Hartford, Connecticut; the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, New Jersey; Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis; and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon.
He has received the National Theatre Conference Award and the American Theatre Association's Distinguished Career Award. For his commitment to new plays, Jory has received the Margo Jones Award twice, the Shubert Foundation's James N. Vaughan Memorial Award for Exceptional Achievement and Contribution to the Development of Professional Theatre, Carnegie Mellon's Commitment to Playwriting Award, and the Regional Theatre Tony Award.
Source: santafeuniversity.edu
Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817)
Just how did the daughter of an obscure cleric, whose works were favoured by a small, elite group in her life time, whose gravestone omitted to mention the fact that she a was published author of novels, manage to become so famous - to the point where the world-wide Jane Austen industry (heritage or otherwise) is today worth billions?
While Charles Dickens’ works were filmed countless times from the beginning of the cinema industry in the late 19th century, Jane Austen was ignored by Hollywood until the 1940 adaptation of Helene Jerome’s successful Broadway production of Pride and Prejudice, starring Laurence Oliver and Greer Garson.
To many, she’s a role model, an inspiration, and a heroine in her own right, and to some, she’s a bit of an obsession.
Flash forward to the 200th anniversary in 2013 of her best known novel Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen today is more than an author. To many, she’s a role model, an inspiration, and a heroine in her own right, and to some, she’s a bit of an obsession. Jane Austen and her works are the subject of scholarly conferences, Regency re-enactments, and even erotic fan-written fiction. Jane Austen super fans, or Janeites, as they call themselves, have formed the Jane Austen Society of North America, made up of regional chapters where members reread her works and pore over biographies to better understand the writer.
“Austen's insight into women's inner lives transcends history. Shakespeare is relevant in today's society, too but you don't see people walking around with a copy of Hamlet in their hand." - Joan Klingel Ray, president of the Jane Austen Society of North America
Lois Anderson, Theatre at UBC MFA Directing and BFA Acting alumna
Lois Anderson has been working as an actor, deviser, director for over 20 years. A graduate of UBC with a BA (English Lit), BFA (Acting), and MFA (Directing), Lois has worked with regional and independent theatre companies. She was a co-founder of Cirque Poule, an original member of Leaky Heaven Circus (working on 7 productions including A Streetcar Named Desire, Bonobo, Birthday Boy ), a co-creator on Neworld Theatre’s first production Devil Box Cabaret, an original creator of The Flying Blind Collective, an Artistic Associate with Runaway Moon and Leaky Heaven, as well as a leading player at Bard on The Beach for 6 seasons (Viola, Kate, Helena, Rosalind, Mistress Overdone, Goneril). Acting credits in new Canadian plays including Griffin and Sabine, Poster Boys, The Penelopiad (Arts Club Theatre), Trout Stanley (Ruby Slippers), The Score (Electric Company), The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces (Boca Del Lupo), Killjoy (Solo Collective), Bloody Cleanup, Queen of Hearts (Les Saintes), Soulless (Rumble), Crime and Punishment (Neworld), and several seasons atThe Caravan Farm Theatre with Nick Hutchinson (Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Passion, The Winter’s Tale). She has played the title role in: Wit, Shirley Valentine, Mother Courage, Salome. Directing Credits include original work with: Roughhouse Theatre (A Last Resort),The Arts Club (My Granny The Goldfish, The Unplugging,) and Peter Panties with Stephen Hill (Leaky Heaven). Other directing credits: The Graduate, and upcoming It’s Snowing on Saltspring (Arts Club) as well as adaptations of Euripides’ Medea and Iphigenia for UBC and SFU mainstage. For Runaway Moon she has devised, acted in and/or directed The Winter’s Tale, Sparrows, Faerie Play, A Small Miracle.
Lois is Mom to Anouska and Elena. Upcoming projects: Leaky Heaven Spring 2014. As an actress Lois has earned seven Jessie Richardson awards and is the recipient of the Sydney Risk Emerging Director award as well as Two Critic’s Choice Awards.
Jane Austen published all her books anonymously. Her first published book, Sense and Sensibility said only “by a lady” in reference to the author. Subsequent books only said “by the author of” and cited previous publications.
The original version of Pride and Prejudice was written in 1796-1797 under the title First Impressions, and was probably in the form of an exchange of letters.
...the publisher turned it down without even looking at the manuscript.
First Impressions was the first of Jane Austen's works to be offered to a publisher, in 1797 by her father, but the publisher turned it down without even looking at the manuscript.
Jane was 21 when she wrote the book over a period of 10 months (she continued to revise). Pride and Prejudice was finally published 200 years ago this year, in 1813. This was her most popular book during her lifetime.
Although out of copyright and available for free on e-readers, it is estimated that the book sells up to 50,000 copies each year in the UK alone.
Jane Austen fans refer to themselves as “Janeites”. The term was coined by George Saintsbury in 1894.
On the web some of the most established popular fan blogs are austenblog.com, austenprose.com and austen.com where a vast assortment of “Austenobilia” can be purchased including t-shirts, cups, towels, tote-bags and mousepads featuring witty quotes from her books, and even a Jane Austen action figure, with writing desk and quill pen. The site pemberley.com claims to be for “The Truly Obsessed” Jane Austen fan.
There is an entire YouTube series called The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, surrounding this book set in today’s day and age. The immersive interactive series has received the 2013 Emmy Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in interactive media.
Austenland (2013): A movie staring Keri Russell whose character is obsessed with Pride and Prejudice, a so she travels to a Jane Austen theme park in search for her perfect gentleman.
Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lust (2011)
Jane Austen inspired Bollywood film Bride and Prejudice (2004)
Bridget Jones's Diary: A 2001 British romantic comedy film based on Helen Fielding's novel, which is a reinterpretation of Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The adaptation stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget, Hugh Grant as the caddish Daniel Cleaver and Colin Firth as Bridget's "true love", Mark Darcy. Firth had previously played Mr Darcy in the popular 1995 BBC TV version of Pride & Prejudice.
Clueless: This movie is loosely based on Jane Austen's novel Emma, transposed into a modern US high school.
50 Shades of Mr Darcy (2012): A bodice ripping parody of Jane Austen's classic, Pride and Prejudice and Fifty Shades of Grey. More sexed up titles at: austenprose.com/2012/07/29/fifty-shades-of-mr-darcy
Jane Austen in Boca: Pride & Prejudice set in a Set in a Florida retirement community) and Jane Austen in Scarsdale (Austen’s Persuasion set in a modern suburban high school.) are both penned by noted Austen scholar Paula Marantz Cohen has penned the bestselling Jane Austen’s Guide to Dating (20005) “Jane Austen helps readers discover their inner heroines and get the guy in this witty book of romance and dating strategies.”
Cooking With Jane Austen (2005) Fancy some broiled mutton chops? This cook book is for you.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2009): A popular parody novel by Seth Grahame-Smith. It is a mashup combining Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice with elements of modern zombie fiction, crediting Austen as co-author. It was first published in April 2009 by Quirk Books and in October 2009 a Deluxe Edition was released, containing full-color images and additional zombie scenes.
Pride and Prejudice and Kitties (2013): What if Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was populated with cats instead of people? Wonder no more.
October 30, 2013: Talk Like Jane Austen Day
October 2013: A giant sculpture of “Mr Darcy” is installed in Hyde Park: Colin Firth bought a whole new audience to the work of Jane Austen when he emerged from a lake with a wet shirt in the BBC adaptation of her classic novel Pride and Prejudice. Now the scene that set viewers' heart racing has been commemorated with a giant Mr Darcy emerging from the lake in London's Hyde Park.
October 2013: Project announced to rework Austen’s six most popular novels into the present day. The Austen Project pairs six bestselling contemporary authors with Jane Austen’s six complete works. The authors will put a contemporary spin on the characters and setting, leaving the plot largely intact, for a decidedly modern Austen series.
The novels include “Sense and Sensibility,” “Northanger Abbey,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Emma,” “Persuasion,” and “Mansfield Park.” The authors include Joanna Trollope, whose modernized “Sense and Sensibility” is out this October, as well as Curtis Sittenfeld, who will be reworking “Pride and Prejudice”; Val McDermid, who will update “Northanger Abbey”; and the latest author pairing to be announced, No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series author, Alexander McCall Smith, who will revamp “Emma.” Authors for “Mansfield Park” and “Persuasion” will be announced later this year.
August 2013: Jane Austen’s House Museum mounts international fundraiser to raise money to purchase Jane Austen’s turquoise ring from Kelly Clarkson after she bought it at auction. Shortly after an anonymous donor donated L 100,000. The house has since purchased the ring.
August 2013: Jane Austen fans, aka “Janeites” are the subject of a new book. Among the Janeites by Deborah Yaffe examines 21st century Austen Fandom as compared to her treatment of Austen fans in earlier eras. An earlier book Jane’s Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World (2009) covered the same topic.
July 2013: Bank of England announces Jane Austin to replace Charles Darwin on 10 Pound Note effective in 2017. The bill will include a portrait of Austen adapted from a sketch by her sister Cassandra, and a quote from Pride and Prejudice: “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!” And with that line (from the insufferable Miss Bingley) Austen will join the ranks of Shakespeare and Dickens.
January 2013: The film Austenland is released, based about a book by the same name about an obsessed Jane Austen fan.
January 2013: A BBC Special by Amanda Vickery, The Many Lovers Of Miss Jane Austen, investigated the more eccentric aspects of Jane Austen fandom. Commissioned in honour of the 200 anniversary of the first publication of Pride and Prejudice.
