Pride & …

Last night we were very fortunate to see a small four person cast of the “This is My Theatre” 🎭 company perform Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. A lovely surprise was the 30 minute musical interlude before the play and the use of music during the performance. All four of the cast sang like angels and two could play instruments (violin, guitar, flute). They sang old English/Irish folk songs such as “Wild Mountain Thyme” and “The Rattlin’ Bog” that we actually knew.
The play itself was a triumph of condensation hitting all the major plot points and capturing the rollicking spirit of the tale. Unfortunately I have not been able to name to cast.

The venue itself was very special, being Church of Christ the Consoler in the magnificent grounds of Newby Hall, Skelton on Ure. The church was built to commemorate the death of Frederick Vyner at 23.

The downside though was the ordeal of the drive home. While we were at the play, road crews had moved in and closed the main road back to town. We asked for advice twice about how to get back to Ripon but each time we were told that “sorry but I am not from round here”. Of course it was raining as well. And the internet was down! While it took 15 minutes to go to the play, it took one hour to get home. The joy of the play had been submerged below an increasingly grim quest to find our way through the dark and wet countryside! As our great folk hero Ned Kelly is reported to have said as he faced his maker on the gallows: “Such is Life”. We recovered after a good night’s sleep, but decided that today we would take it easy.Les mer