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in this west end production the beautiful sweeping staircase of books is a stunning centre piece i have already mentioned how uplifting a performance this is and how the music will make you want to clap along this is such an inclusive play at various times the audience is addressed directly which makes you feel part of the show not just a spectator i always enjoy this feature of theatre in contrast to a cinematic adaptation overall i feel this is a fascinating way of bringing pride and prejudice to a modern audience and of showing that austen is still relatable and relevant laughs echoed throughout the theatre and unending applause followed the finale you will leave feeling uplifted joyful after so much laughter with some toe tapping tunes echoing in your head clever and witty but most importantly when it comes to jane austen funny you are unlikely to regret an evening out at this production i can t wait to go back to enjoy my 4th performance i wish them all some well deserved recognition and continued success i was accompanied by my janeite friend abigail rose who wishes to add her thoughts pride and prejudice sort of is every austen fan s dream modernisation of the story while still keeping austen s wit and representation of regency society at the heart of it the writer has thrown out the more sedate dialogue for fast paced and fiery words such as you would be likely to overhear down at the pub the show is utterly hilarious from the start when the servants of our favourite austen families are given the spotlight to re tell the love story of elizabeth bennet and mr darcy because without the servants none of it would have happened right the characters burst into song with their karaoke machine which makes you want to get out of your seat and clap along mrs bennet can be found eating a box of quality street at christmas whilst lydia is sneaking off with a bottle of wkd at the netherfield ball i especially loved the way that characters such as charlotte lucas and mary bennet were given voices that made you feel for their challenging situations in life i was willing elizabeth to run off with charlotte and live happily ever after at one point and for someone to just give mary the microphone and let her sing you can tell that the writer and actresses are true fans of pride and prejudice their fun and enjoyment whilst performing is infectious and makes the whole experience a true delight to watch this version is a breath of fresh air and an instant all time favourite i need to see it again and i recommend you do too need we say more go and book your tickets now by lizzie november 10 2021 no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest saturday august 07 2021 blog tour the reintroduction of fitzwilliam darcy by christine combe with giveaway greetings fellow austenians i m so excited to be visiting laughing with lizzie today to talk about my new book the reintroduction of fitzwilliam darcy especially today because it s release day woohoo does a happy dance and a double fist pump i do hope you ll celebrate my new release with me by checking out this book and maybe even my first two novels all available at amazon reintroduction is my first standalone austen variation and i really hope you ll like it as much as i ve enjoyed writing it in this new story circumstances are vastly different for odc elizabeth and her sisters are the daughters of a baronet and darcy has no fortune but as always the stars align and one of literature s most beloved couples unite determined to take on the world together in case you haven t been following along as i posted the chapters at a happy assembly here s the opening of chapter 3 darcy found himself awake at six the next morning this was not an unusual time for him to rise for there was always something to be done about the few acres of land he inhabited sometimes he would offer his assistance to a neighboring tenant if there was a need for extra hands for the building of a fence or repairs to a roof once he had spent an entire day on a neighbor s farm helping to build a new barn though he often let his beard grow out to disguise himself since he saw no one of his old circle of acquaintances his neighbors knew who he was they knew what had happened to his father his fortune his dignity none of this was ever mentioned the tenants were grateful to him for ensuring they would not lose their own homes in the wake of the disaster that had befallen his family and they respected him more than ever for being willing to humble himself and live at their level it was well known that he could have joined his sister at the home of his lofty relatives the earl and countess of disley the earl now having management over pemberley park but had chosen to remain close to the home that had been his from the day of his birth he had not abandoned the people who had for so long made a piece of the park their homes after completing his morning ablutions he dressed in one of the suits that reynolds had packed for him a pair of black breeches and a brown waistcoat and jacket he was supposed to go riding with his sister but had no riding breeches or boots with him so what he had would have to do he was just tying his cravat when there was a knock at his door half expecting his uncle he opened it to find not the earl but his valet on the other side does lord disley have need of me he asked perkins shook his head and lifted his hand darcy took note of a towel folded over his arm with a mug in his hand that held a brush a razor and a pair of scissors no sir said the valet lord disley thought that perhaps you might like a shave and a haircut it s more likely his lordship desired his nephew not go about the grounds looking like a wolf in sheep s clothing darcy muttered though he stepped aside and allowed the man to enter wondering how his uncle could possibly have known he would be awake at this hour he wordlessly took himself to the chair at the dressing table and sat in it as perkins arrayed the few instruments he d brought on the table s top he then moved to the wash stand and poured a draught of water into the mug which darcy knew would have a chunk of soap at the bottom on his return perkins unfolded the towel and put it about his chest and shoulders the long serving valet made quick work of trimming his hair to a more respectable shorter length before he went to work on clearing the beard from his chin afterward darcy was forced to admit that he both looked and felt better more like his old self though he knew it would not last long thanking perkins for his time and the excellence of his work he then quit his room to go in search of his uncle surely the earl was up if his valet was already at work he found the older man not unsurprisingly in his study the clock on the mantle over the fireplace read seven and he still wore a flannel banyan ah fitzwilliam i see that perkins has done his duty richard fitzwilliam remarked on bidding him entrance indeed you need not be embarrassed to be seen with me now darcy remarked lord disley frowned fitzwilliam there s no need to be unpleasant i know you haven t a man of your own right now i have reynolds darcy rejoined he does well enough in lieu of a proper valet though given my living situation i see no need to waste time having him shave me every morning or trim my hair every month those are at present luxuries i can do without you chose to stay behind and live as your tenants do his uncle reminded him needlessly on the contrary uncle there was no choice said darcy not for me perhaps you would understand how i feel if our situations were reversed perhaps i would but that is a moot point one which we have argued countless times over the last five years said the earl with a sigh i did not ask you here to debate the merits of your choice i sent perkins to you because i thought i might do you a kindness while you were here not because i was ashamed of your appearance you didn t ask me here uncle you said you expected me by supper which i believe qualifies as a summons darcy pointed out lord disley frowned again and sat back in his chair might i ask why you are behaving so churlishly darcy scoffed need you really ask you demanded i come and then made me wait for an explanation as to why then you had your man tend me this morning as though you could not stand the sight of me you reminded me that i chose the life i now live as though i am not reminded of it every single day and though we have argued the necessity of that choice countless times you still fail to understand why i made it pemberley is all that i have left and i don t even really have that you do he emitted a groan born of exasperation and annoyance i just don t understand how you cannot see what it means to me both to remain at the park and to live with the knowledge that pemberley is yours and not mine an expression he could not decipher had fallen over his uncle s face and when at last darcy had finished speaking the earl sighed heavily i suppose you are right he said at last i cannot truly understand because i have never been put in the position to have to make the choice you did but i can imagine fitzwilliam i can imagine the humiliation the loss of pride and dignity you suffer i can imagine how much it hurt you to lose your father in the manner he left us to place your only sibling into the custody of others to care for he sat forward then his hands clasped together on the desktop and his gaze now earnest i hope that one day you will know how very very proud i am of the man you have chosen to be i don t know that i could be such a man i m too used to this life too old and set in my ways to so easily give it up for a cottage in a distant corner of my own estate disley then gestured to the chair that sat before his desk drawing a breath darcy moved at last to take it expelling the breath in a whoosh as he fell back into it please believe me when i say that it pains me more than you will ever know to have to sit by and do almost nothing for you his uncle continued i have honestly done all that i can these last five years feeling suddenly ashamed of his behavior darcy nodded i know you have uncle forgive me for being such an ungracious oaf sometimes the weight of well everything just crashes down upon me and i lash out when i should instead be silent his uncle nodded given all you have endured and how you have always tended toward keeping your emotions under strict regulation it is only natural that you should explode once in a while when you have no one with whom you feel comfortable confiding in to vent upon said he shall we say no more about it you are very good uncle darcy replied now you said in your note that you wished to discuss pemberley but thought it best to do so in person yes i suppose it is best we have done with it so that your mood is calmer when your sister rises said lord disley she has been looking forward to having you here since i told her you were coming i am sorry to have stayed away so long i simply thought it for the best i understand that and she will as well in time his uncle then shifted some papers on his desk about seemingly looking for one or more in particular when at last he found what he was looking for he held the sheets out to darcy that he said as darcy took the two pages of parchment in hand is a plan for returning at least some of your fortune to you it will take some time before the estate can be solvent again but it s doable darcy frowned as the full meaning of what he was reading registered it was a business plan for leasing pemberley you want to let pemberley pemberley in the hands of other people he said not bothering to keep the incredulity he felt from his voice fitzwilliam you forget perhaps that not only was much of the darcy fortune lost to those wretched wickhams but also that your father spent what they didn t take trying to find them not to mention his desperate attempts to recoup his losses through gambling and bad investments lord disley pointed out it is a miracle that your sister s dowry was saved the rent from pemberley s tenants has not been enough to pay off all the debt accrued and it s been almost five years we ought to have done this from the start but we were both of us so hopeful that those bounders and the money they took might yet be found we were as you are full aware unfortunately wrong and i can no longer justify taking no action at all regarding the estate something must be done as i know you ll never agree to my selling it you re damn right i won t darcy growled you may legally own pemberley at present uncle but that house that land and their history belong to georgiana and me precisely my point disley retorted nor would i wish to take it away from you as you said it s all you have left and i do want to be able to place ownership of the estate back into the hands in which it belongs i d have done before now but with the state of your father s affairs i did not wish to chance his debtors trying to claim it piecemeal and for that uncle i do thank you despite the collateral damage done by my father giving up the estate i am content in the knowledge that it will one day be mine again darcy replied you have saved it for me and i am grateful i haven t the ability to manage disley as well as pemberley on my income i m rich fitzwilliam but sadly not that rich his uncle continued with a yearly lease in place asking as much as can legally be asked and perhaps a little more we can put that much more of the tenants rents toward the debt a trifling amount in comparison but still something you ll at least get your ten thousand a year back which is a vast deal better than what i ve been able to give you a vast deal better indeed ten thousand a year would be a far cry from the five hundred he now lived under and having pemberley as his own once again though up to half his income would be spent on maintaining the house and grounds and seeing to the needs of the tenants would be eminently preferable to what he made do with at present he could pay reynolds and his wife a salary again he could get them help for carrying out their daily tasks they could delegate to maids and footmen as they had done before and he just might go back to shaving more than once a week darcy lifted the papers in his hands as he asked what pray is your projection for solvency his uncle sat back again unless by some miracle the money stolen by your father s steward and his son is found three to five years stunned was the only word to describe what the earl s declaration made darcy feel no he felt cold at having to face another three to five years living barely within view of his family s ancestral home whilst another lived inside it it was one thing to endure the cottage knowing the estate house was empty but to be forced to watch some other man come and go from it as he pleased what what am i to do he stuttered how how can i possibly remain when my home is given i...