"Two Bit Classics enjoy a rollercoaster ride through the majority of Austen’s characters in this ingenious two-hander. Tincey skilfully arranges Austen’s words to allow the characters not only to speak for themselves but also to tell part of the narrative. Her study of Austen revitalises the characters in a way that no television adaptation has succeeded - the double acts of Mr and Mrs Bennet, Elizabeth and Darcy and Kitty and Lydia are punched out in short bursts with a sardonic wit that indulges Austen’s quiet disdain of society at the time.
The production is cleverly directed by Abigail Anderson, ensuring that the actors transfigure smoothly from one character to the next, creating a very funny yet sympathetic adaptation of Austen’s novel."
4 star Review from Julie Watterson in The Stage
click here for full review
"Pride and Prejudice is a delightful little gem of theatre that pulses with comedy and energy, and you really enjoy yourself throughout the show. It’s never boring or farcical, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s witty, engaging and not to be missed."
Adam Bruce for A Younger Theatre
click here for full review
"This aged curmudgeon was won over in the first few moments
when it was clear that the story would unfold, not only in the direct dialogue
between characters but also in the third person comments of Austen herself performed
to the audience. For once we were given a production that did not leave out the
incisive wit of the writer herself.
The action was fast and precise. There were no pauses for
costume changes. A pipe and a bent back indicated Mr Bennet; a red sash the
military Wickham; a black cane identified Lady Catherine. We, the audience
quickly understood the game, accepted the conventions and delighted in the
sheer professional brilliance of Joannah Tincey, Nick Underwood and their
director Abigail Anderson. The very
precision of the choreography, the control of the props and the variety of the
voices they employed was a joy to experience. It could all have collapsed with
one missed line or misplaced prop. It was akin to seeing the most daring of
feats on a high wire, minus the safety net. And I, as Austen intended, “ was
excessively diverted”! And I was not alone.
It was simply the most entertaining and intellectually
stimulating evening I have spent in the theatre this year."
Peter Lewis
Hexham
Courant.
"Pride and Prejudice @ Pegasus 'Tour de force is
classic to be proud of'
Two Bit
Classics theatre company have come up with a completely fresh way to bring to
life one of the most beloved works of English Literature. Most of us have
probably seen the lavish film and TV adaptations, but director Abigail Anderson
and company have astutely realised that often ‘less is more’ and embraced this
adage brilliantly. Creating a uniquely theatrical experience, a cast of only
two performers bring to life a myriad of Austen’s characters in an adaptation
of masterful clarity by Joannah Tincey."
"The piece was brilliantly written, lifting its lines directly from the novel while retaining its own quick humour. The play stayed fast-paced throughout, and was full of sharp acting, bringing Austen’s words to life, and became more and more gripping as it progressed....a fantastically quick-witted masterpiece... I think the only mistake made was not to book them for a second night!"
Daily Info Oxford (click here for full reviews)
"I was sceptical in advance about how successful Pride and Prejudice with just two actors could be but the results were a vindication of this ambitious approach. The transitions between all of the twenty-one characters were smooth and there was no point where it was unclear who was who or what was going on – to the great credit of the talented actors and a wonderful director. You can tell when people have embraced a play when the whole auditorium sighs happily after the final act and then claps. It was a production that the newly formed Two Bit Classics company can be really proud of."
Suzanne Day. In Suffolk Magazine (click here for full review)
"Two Bit Classic’s version of Pride and Prejudice was billed as
‘inventive’. It featured, we were informed, only two actors for all twenty-one
roles. It sounded like something Mr Bennet would not have liked. Unexpectedly
it was marvellous.
Writer Joannah Tincey (who is also one half of the dramatis
personae) and director Abigail Anderson have noticed the fact that Austen’s
narrative is chiefly composed of ‘close-ups’ rather than ‘wide-shot’ angles of
observation, which permit the reader – here, the audience – intimate
impressions of individual characters’ perspectives…The complex operation of
distilling Austen’s narration into a two-handed presentation was managed with a
lightness of touch that experimental theatre is prone to miss: the way the
story went was inevitable, but how it got there was not, and there were all
sorts of surprises and flourishes along the way. Tincey was a sprightly and
sparky Lizzie, and Nick Underwood, the other half of the company, was moody and
taciturn as Darcy; but in many ways Lizzie and Darcy were not the stars of the
evening, and Anderson’s production was all the better for intelligently bringing
out the theatrical potential of the lesser characters…The production is
captivating and charming."
Clare Bucknell- British Society for Eighteenth Century Studies (click here for full review)
"A novel way to bring a novel to the stage...Director Abigail Anderson has met the challenge admirably, managing to lift all 21 of Austen’s well-known characters into the hands of Joannah Tincey and Nick Underwood, whose acting capabilities are huge...Mrs Bennet had a lace hankie stuffed down her cleavage and Lydia twirled her ringlets then, with a quick unwrap of her dress, we see Mr Bingley in his jodhpurs and boots. Clever..."
Helen Brown,
The Northern Echo
(Georgian Theatre Richmond)
For Audience reviews - please see our 'Two Bit Classics At Work' page.