Murder, froth and high society

AHEAD of a tour that takes in Windsor, Cardiff, Bath, Guildford, Bromley, High Wycombe, Brighton and Richmond, the Mill at Sonning’s world premiere of Death Comes to Pemberley has got off to a great start.

Starring EastEnders’ James Bye as Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy and Jamie-Rose Duke as Elizabeth Darcy (née Bennet), the production has been adapted for the stage by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel from the book by crime author PD James. The story begins with a focus on the Darcys a few years into their marriage. Their peace is interrupted by some disturbing news.

Director, Joe Harmston, says: “It’s bringing together lots of people’s favourites, so you’ve got a murder mystery and you’ve got Jane Austen.

“The lovely arc of the piece is that we begin with everything seeming wonderful on the night before the annual Pemberley ball, which is the great social occasion of the year, and by the end of it, we’ve dealt with everything which really looks as if it’s going to totally threaten the security of Elizabeth and Darcy’s world and everybody associated with them.”

James and Jamie-Rose are joined by Sarah Berger as Lady Catherine de Bourgh/Mrs Bidwell, Todd Boyce as Sir Selwyn Hardcastle and Celia Cruwys-Finnigan as Georgiana Darcy.

Louise Faulkner plays Mrs Younge/Joan/Mrs Piggot, Paul Jerricho plays Mr Bidwell/Jim Pratt/Dr McFee/Judge, Mogali Masuku is Lydia/Louisa, David Osmond is Henry Alveston, Sean Rigby is Colonel Fitzwilliam and Sam Woodhams is George Wickham/Will Bidwell.

“There are moments which are wonderfully comical,” says Joe, “and both PD James and Rachel and Duncan I think really have captured the world of Austen.

“You’ve got the froth and the delight of the society and the language and you’ve got really interesting characters across the board.

“Everybody in it has got a wonderful journey and many of them very unexpected, but I think it’s also a piece that is really about something that in many ways we’re dealing with today, which is actually how much agency do women have in many of the decisions in their lives, particularly where children are concerned.”

With set design by Sean Cavanagh and costumes and hair design by Natalie Titchener, lighting design is by Mike Robertson, with music directed and arranged by David Osmond.

“It’s a piece with a great deal to offer for an audience which I’m really pleased about. There is a lot of live music, and a lovely set, which I think will also surprise and delight and keep revealing itself in different ways.”

There has been a lot of careful coordination going on behind the scenes, says Joe.

“It’s a difficult piece to do because it’s blending together so many different aspects. You’ve got to really work to be truthful to the logic of Austen’s characters and to that world.

“Also, I think doing this sort of thriller piece is possibly the hardest work to do for actors. They have to deliver every single bit of information, so that the audience really knows that they are in command of everything that they might have got, so that they really feel that they can work it out.

“There’s nothing worse than a thriller in which you kind of get to the end of it and it’s all explained, and you’re thinking, ‘Did I ever know any of that? How could I have grasped that?’.

“The joy that you get in return for that incredibly hard work is that you can really feel the audience following it, every moment and realising things at the same time that the characters do, sometimes in fact ahead of the characters.

“It’s that energy passing between the audience and the stage of people, the pennies dropping and people going ‘Oh, right’.”

After its run at the Mill, Death Comes to Pemberley will be taken to theatres in the South of England.

Joe says: “This is the first venture for the Mill in taking a production on tour and I think it’s a really impressive thing for them to be doing.

“At a time when loads of theatres are really worrying about what they can do, Adam and Sally are doing a play with 11 people in it and we’re going on the road for eight weeks after playing here. It’s a big thing to do and I think it should really be celebrated.”

l Death Comes to Pemberley is at the Mill at Sonning until Saturday, June 28. For more information, call the box office on 0118 969 8000 or visit millatsonning.com The tour comes to the Theatre Royal Windsor from Tuesday, July 22 to Saturday, July 26. For more information, call the box office on 01753 853888 or visit theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk It is at the Wycombe Swan from Tuesday, August 26 to Saturday, August 30. For more information, call the box office on 0343 310 0060 or visit trafalgartickets.com/wycombe-swan-theatre/en-GB