Joana Starnes

Did you know that, for many decades since Pride and Prejudice was first published, Mr. Darcy was in no way regarded as central to the story? Hard to believe, but so it was. Until the Peacock Edition, there were barely any illustrations showing him, and those that did were terribly unflattering. Or that, in an early theatre production, Colonel Fitzwilliam had a name – and it wasn’t Richard, it was Guy?

Did you know that Clark Gable and Robert Taylor were at some point short-listed to play Mr. Darcy in the 1940 adaptation? Or that there was supposed to be a 1974 version (the one that never was), casting Sir Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson as Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, and Peter O’Toole as Mr. Darcy?

Did you know that JAFF is much older than we think, and there were sequels, prequels and spin-offs as far back as 1949?

All this and more I learnt on the day when Simon Langton, some dearly loved members of his stellar cast, and several reputed Austen scholars gathered together at Chawton House, once the home of Edward Austen-Knight, to celebrate P&P 1995’s twentieth anniversary.

That day, a dream came true, and we were treated to a glorious spell in Pride and Prejudice Heaven, thanks to the wonderful people who gave us so many happy hours.

Simon Langton was a joy to listen to, and the stories he had to share were a delight. Not least the one about how, in the filming of the underwater scenes, in a special tank in Ealing, due to an unwise decision taken by his first assistant, our dear Mr. Darcy ended up surfacing straight into the edge of the last section of the heavy metal lid, leaving the distraught director to contemplate four dreadful possibilities: recasting Mr Darcy (the horror!!!!) after nearly half of the film had already been shot; waiting for months for Colin Firth to emerge from reconstructive surgery; seeing the whole P&P project shelved while the BBC battled with the insurance company, or spending the next 15 years in jail for murdering his first assistant :D. Luckily, none of these came to pass. There was just a relatively small bump, easily concealed, and the show could go on.

Along with Jane Gibson, the wonderful choreographer who has given us the magical dance scenes, Simon Langton also told us how, in the very beginning, Mr. Darcy was ‘dancing-dyslexic’ (ever so hard to believe!) and how surreal the filming of the dance scenes seemed, because there was no music in the room, just in the carefully concealed ear-pieces every character had been supplied with.

We met Kitty Bennet (Polly Maberly) who is full of life and wonderfully welcoming. Mr Bennet (Benjamin Whitrow) was there too, to tell us that he had modelled his portrayal of the character on his own father, who absolutely adored his mother although he ‘took the mickey’ mercilessly. So was Mrs Gardiner (Joanna David), to share moving and deeply personal stories from the filming of the scenes in the Peak District, and to show us that she has not changed in 20 years.

Neither had Jane Bennet. Susannah Harker was as beautiful and kind as in the miniseries, and seeing her with Mr. Bingley was a joy to behold!

Need I say that meeting Mr Bingley face to face was a delight that kept me on a high for hours?

He, too, is as wonderful as ever, as ‘Mr Bingley’ as ever, in looks and in manner. Cheerful and engaging, his real-life persona is a perfect mirror of the role he had portrayed and made us fall in love with his delightful character.

Sadly, Mr. Darcy wasn’t there, just his wet shirt, but I guess it was just as well, otherwise the lovely people of Chawton House would have been treated to the spectacle of several ladies fainting in tight formation 😀

The last story I have to tell (today at least) is that Susannah Harker told me she was extremely surprised that, despite the enthusiastic following, unlike Trekkies, Pride and Prejudice fans don’t have conventions.

Oh, but we do! We don’t tend to dress up to portray Lizzy and Darcy (a tall order, that!), but what are all the Jane Austen festivals we merrily go to, but countless Pride and Prejudice conventions? If you’re going to one in the near future, I hope you’ll have a wonderful time! I’ll post more from the one in Bath, very soon.

Four days left! Can’t wait – can’t wait – can’t wait!