Jane Austen's women are some of the most entertaining characters to be found within the pages of classic novels, and the wit and intelligence of her writing shines brightly in Dyad Productions' Lady Susan. Drawing on key missives from Austen's epistolary novel and playing every role in later interactions, Rebecca Vaughan triumphs in this one woman show.
There's a real sense of mischief from the start as the recently widowed Lady Susan begins her tale of scheming, coquetry and husband-hunting, taking great pleasure in laying bare her plans and sparing no self-congratulation along the way. Vaughan moves between characters with impressive precision and distinctiveness under direction of Andrew Margerison, and the sense of sharpness is helped along by small but mighty devices - namely the clapping of hands to cue Lady Susan's take-over of the narrative, which becomes increasingly comic as she seems to hijack the piece at the height of her frustrations.
But much of the performance takes shape as a battle of wills between the influential Lady Susan and sister-in-law Catherine. As the scheming, resourceful Lady Susan, Vaughan speaks in confident velvet tones and with force, right from the diaphragm. This is a woman full of practised artifice and unshakeable clarity of ambitions - she inspires humour with her audacity and barbed judgements of others, landing deliciously biting lines with a permanent knowing smirk.
Catherine is a stark transformation as Vaughan crosses the stage from chaise to chair: high-pitched irritation is her baseline and she pairs this with a fantastically mobile expressiveness, grimacing and tutting to her heart's content. Some of the most comic moments belong to the speechless Catherine, who finds as much expressiveness in face as in shrillness and tight, incredulous laughs that she never fully releases from her throat.
Daughter Frederica takes a careful mid pitch between the two, and a softer tone, lingering on words with fluttering eyes as she heads for marriage and begins to pick up her mother's alluring mantle. The Grand matriarch Mrs De Courcy is conjured with shawl, crumbling posture and an aged voice from the depths of a cave somewhere, booming her disapproval with great comic impact - it's a wonder that Vaughan can use her voice so powerfully in such costuming, but she's mastered 60 minutes of constant speech in a corset like nobody's business.
Quite apart from the rich comedy of these characters, Lady Susan exposes the ridiculousness of the lot of the Georgian woman, crafting wonderful comic caricatures but never missing an opportunity to highlight the trials and tribulations of women so beholden to men for survival - and so often sunk or left to flounder by other women. In bringing such women to the stage, Rebecca Vaughan's performance is a stellar example of carefully crafted multi-rolling, carrying us along with an assured and charismatic performance in an ambitious and brilliantly executed solo show. See this one if you can.
Dyad Production's adaptation of early Jane Austen novel is full of subtle humour.
Lady Susan, an early novel by Jane Austen not published in her lifetime, was brought to life for one night only at Warwick’s lovely Bridge House Theatre. It is a charming, funny, thought-provoking one-woman show. Dyad Productions, of which the woman in question is Rebecca Vaughan, consists mainly of Rebecca and Andrew Margerison, who directed this production. They punch way above their weight in a simply staged, fast moving show that sees Rebecca play a host of characters from the novel.
One-person shows are very much in vogue at the moment – think Andrew Scott’s brilliant production of Vanya at the National Theatre, for example. They are cheaper to stage than full-company productions, but they place huge demands on the solo actor who must carry the weight of the show more or less on their acting skills alone. Done well - Lady Susan is done well - it makes for thrilling, intimate theatre in which character is very much to the fore.
Lady Susan is Susan Vernon, a middle-ranking aristocrat in Georgian England. She is a widow, and though not penniless, hasn’t enough cash or property to lead the life she expects and wants. Lacking any special talents, save one, she has to rely on her skills as a coquette to make her way. As such she plays upon her relatives’ fortunes and goodwill, which prove to be less than infinite. Unfortunately for her, she can’t resist meddling in other people’s marriages, not least in trying to bring a wedge between her brother Charles and his shrewish wife Catherine. Catherine doesn’t forgive her and does her best to thwart her sister-in-law’s mischievous schemes. These involve various handsome, wealthy, more-or-less eligible men, some with more money than wit or intelligence, and Lady Susan’s daughter Frederica, who should prove a useful tool in her mother’s kit, were she not so romantic and rebellious.
For Lady Susan’s game in not merely, nor even partly, about romance. It’s about power and survival in a world where a woman’s worth is measured in her wealth and in her charms. There’s a dark undercurrent to the story, which is hinted at but is there, nevertheless. Lady Susan does not get everything her own way.
Whether one sees this as social satire or just character-based comedy, there is much to enjoy. I loved the voices of Lady Catherine and the frosty old aristocrat Lady De Courcy, Catherine’s mother. Rebecca switches easily between them all, with only an occasional nod to a male character. Men are not the major players in this game of seduction and survival.
The novel is told in epistolary form, and the dialogue here is in the voices of letters written by one character to another. The postal service, which was very quick at the time, was the social media of its day. Then, as now, people reveal themselves, sometimes inadvertently, often ironically.
The company is due to tour extensively with this and other minimal shows which, on the basis of this production, are likely to be well worth seeing. Likewise The Bridge House Theatre has some interesting shows coming up.
I for one will be keeping an eye on both of them.
How could one actor depict several different characters and hold our attention for well over an hour? Rebecca Vaughan as Lady Susan had her audience captivated and wanting more.
Austen's Women: Lady Susan is the latest offering from Dyad Productions, created in collaboration with The Old Town Hall, Hemel Hempstead. Based on Jane Austen's first full-length work from 1794, written in the form of letters between the main characters, it is performed by Rebecca Vaughan and directed by Andrew Margerison.
Lady Susan, a beautiful, charming but scheming young widow has arrived at Churchill, the country house of her obliging brother-in-law and his suspicious wife. Fresh from causing upset with her flirtatious dalliances at Langford she now embarks on winning over sister-in-law Catherine's brother, Reginald. At the same time she is determined to marry her daughter Frederica to a man that the young lady heartily dislikes. The story unfolds through the correspondence between Lady Susan and Alicia, her friend and accomplice in romantic intrigues, and between sister-in-law Catherine and her mother, Lady de Courcy.
The stunningly simple set - a white curtain backdrop with a black velvet chaise-longue and chair on a black and white “tiled” carpet - was a perfect foil for the scheming machinations of the recently widowed Lady Susan. Black and White - was anything straightforward with this complex character? Was she manoeuvring her family and lovers like pieces on a chess board?
A change in the lighting and music accompanied the switch between the characters played so convincingly by Rebecca Vaughan. A clap of the hands and bright lighting heralds Lady Susan as she describes her progress in her conquests to her friend Alicia. Subdued sound and lighting when portraying sister-in-law Catherine, accompanied by petulant facial expressions and barely suppressed anger as she updates her mother on her guest's scheming. A shawl, walking stick and a deep, penetrating voice for Lady de Courcy as she worries about the family inheritance should Lady Susan succeed in ensnaring Reginald. There are even cameo portrayals of Frederica and Reginald. Alicia is heard off-stage, eventually forsaking her friend to preserve her own comfortable life - as she declares “Facts are such horrid things.”
Sadly, this wonderful production was only at The Old Laundry for one night. It is now touring over 40 venues throughout England, Scotland and Wales until September.
A solo performance of Jane Austen's first full length work and lesser known Lady Susan had the sellout audience at the Ustinov Studio in Bath enthralled.
Performed by the hugely talented Rebecca Vaughan as the black widow Lady Susan (and many other parts) the production by award-winning Dyad Productions was well timed to coincide with the Jane Austen festival in Bath.
But it was Austen as you have never seen her.
Rebecca Vaughan played all the parts in this dramatised version of the work which is a series of letters about the scandalous love life of the notorious Lady Susan.
The show was hilarious at times as Vaughan transformed herself into at least four different characters based on stereotypical 18th century frivolous wealthy women, Austen's bread and butter.
And jokes and references about Bath in Austen's original work were very well received.
There is a freshness about this work, it is not familiar and the audience on Saturday enjoyed the plot as revealed through the letters to and from the scheming Lady Susan.
Dressed in black period gown, Vaughan was magnificent in each role, the irony of Austen's words played on and given a modern twist by clever stage management and facial expression.
Dyad Productions are regular visitors to the Ustinov, the originality of their work and their reworking of classics are by now well known in Bath.
Lady Susan was no exception, a wonderful way to spend an idle hour and-a-bit on a damp Saturday afternoon in Bath.
The author would approve, I am sure.
Expectations were high for this production at The Georgian Theatre Royal. Rebecca Vaughan is no stranger to its historic stage - I, Elizabeth, Female Gothic and A Room of One's Own - to name but a few of her past solo shows - and she has a strong Richmond following.
Rebecca started touring as Dyad Productions back in 2009 with Austen's Women and she returns to the revered author for this latest production, introducing audiences to a somewhat lesser-known Austen heroine - Lady Susan Vernon.
Lady Susan is an epistolary novel - a very popular genre in the 18th Century - written in 1794 but not published until 1871 after Austen's death. It comprises letters between the fictional characters of the narrative and lends itself perfectly to a solo show, allowing for a whole range of character reactions to unfolding events.
Helped by quick-fire lighting changes and a clapping of the hands, Rebecca Vaughan switches expertly between the scheming tones of Devil-may-care Lady Susan to the simpering barbs of her long-suffering sister-in-law Catherine. Other protagonists include her rebellious and 'neglected' daughter Frederica, family matriarch Mrs De Courcy and the insouciant best friend, Alicia.
As always with Austen, the famed wit and pertinent choice of language make the lines fresh and razor sharp. Vaughan delivers them with a dazzling skill that ensures the plot moves at such a fast a pace that the audience is left in awe at a performer who can hold the stage so utterly and completely. This was essentially a 75-minute monologue with hardly a pause for breath.
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