Oliver makes a dashing Mr Darcy

REHEARSALS for a musical version of Pride And Prejudice at the Kenton Theatre are well underway and director Julie Huntington says she is delighted with her Mr Darcy.

After a long search for an accomplished actor who was dashing — and could sing — Mrs Huntington was relieved to find Oliver Dench, a former Henley College student who is now busy making his name as an actor.

Oliver most recently played Paris in an avant-garde professional production of Romeo And Juliet at St Mary the Virgin Church in Reading.

Mrs Huntington said: “Oliver has got a lovely voice and an amazing command of the text. He gets the emotion on board so well. He’s a true born actor.”

She added that Samantha Field, who plays Elizabeth Bennett, is “a Pride And Prejudice freak, it’s her favourite book and she knows the character inside out.”

The show, produced by the Henley Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society, runs at the Kenton Theatre from Wednesday to Saturday, November 13 to 16.

For tickets call (01491) 575698 or visit www.kentontheatre.co.uk