Pride and Prejudice Sort Of: REVIEW - Jane Austen meets a Brian Rix Farce at Chichester Festival Theatre and it couldn't be more fun

So let’s be blunt – Jane Austen aficionados might shudder at the language, the medley of popular music songs that intersect the plot, and the premise of this play that a group of domestic servants are acting out the lives of those upstairs.

Nor is there anything remotely sedate or lady-like in this interpretation of Pride and Prejudice – possibly one of the greatest classics in the English canon.

For those old enough to remember a Brian Rix farce, it perhaps owes more to this genre, as characters race around the stage playing a variety of roles, changing costumes at pace, and throwing in a wide variety of popular songs to add to the pace.

Truth be told, if you haven’t left the auditorium in the first five minutes in disgust clutching your Austen first edition to your breast then you are in for an evening of tremendous fun, energy and humour.

The cast fizzes with girl power as they occupy all the roles, making this as much rom-com as period romantic drama.

Real highlights include a rendition of Lady In Red. There are occasions when the production seems to think itself more funny than it is but this is a joyful evening for all but the Austen purists.