Plied and Prejudice
Downstairs at The Maj
Wednesday, July 23 2025
Five actors, twenty characters, two hundred years of literary expectation, and thirty years since Colin Firth jumped into a lake in his lightest, whitest linen shirt—welcome to Plied and Prejudice, a new reinterpretation of the beloved, phenomenal Jane Austen classic. After a hometown debut last year, Brisbane-based Woodward Productions landed Downstairs at The Maj and brought to the west this riotous tequila-soaked affair, full of verve, wit, and oftentimes manic energy.
Mention must be made of the delightful staging of the piece, a rectangular in-the-round setting, with the nearest audience members almost atop the actors and many shared tables crowded behind. As the troupe exited and entered the stage from all four corners of the room, this leant into an earned intimacy for the evening, warm and cosy as deep winter stormed outside.
Despite appearing to have shredded ninety percent of the original book, this was a surprisingly faithful adaptation to Austen. The core beats were all in place, and the overall plot was summarised succinctly when required—where this production deviated from playing it totally straight were the minimal performers, from whom a plethora of physical comedies ensued.
Rp van der Westhuizen absolutely shone in his multiple roles. Whether it was Mister Bennet, Bingley, Collins or Wickham, van der Westhuizen brought depth, gravity, and sly humour to these supporting roles. His Collins especially was abhorrent and despicable, deliberately so, at one point even crawling spider-like across the floor.
As Mister Darcy and the lesser Bennet sisters, Patrick Gandin was a hoot. For his primary role, Gandin affected the stiff upper lip detachment infamously associated with Darcy, then let his metaphorical hair down with the triple role of Bennets Kitty, Lydia, and Mary. Several very Pythonesque influences were noted, especially with Mary.
Ayesha Gibson, who played Lizzy Bennet, was also this evening’s randomly designated drinker. She narrated most summaries for the chapters that had been binned and brought an engaging and boisterous energy to her roles. Indeed, all the actors demonstrated a relaxed ease with each other and the audience, as if this was simply a twentieth rehearsal between friends rather than official opening night.
One imperial inch away from being a ridiculously fun Christmas panto, Plied and Prejudice absolutely succeeded in treading the fine line between po-faced faithfulness to, or outright mockery of, the source material. With more swears than the canon, several MAFS references, and shopping days full of Lululemon and Boost Juice, enough nods to the present were included without the core messages of the 1813 original being diminished.
With the Perth season already extended by six weeks, there is no doubt that Plied and Prejudice tickets will be mulled-wine hot this winter and spring. With a cast that appeared to be having a ball, a venue and setting that encouraged, nay, craved audience participation, and the ever-present potential of chaos via the next tequila shot, long may the classics be reinterpreted thus.