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About
the Festival
The
Festival was started in response to the demand from visitors to
the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, where every day, residents and enthusiasts
have the chance to learn more about Jane Austen's life, novels and
times.
Nowadays
the whole city becomes involved and a huge variety of events take
place against the backdrop of this elegant Georgian city.
Presentations
The
three drama presentations: Darcy's Dilemma, First Impressions, and
Yours Ever, Jane Austen focus on unusual aspects of the best loved
novel that has topped literary polls so emphatically this year:
Pride and Prejudice.
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| Do
you prefer Colin Firth or Laurence Olivier as Darcy? Either
way you can decide with a chance to see the films in Bath |
The
highlight of the Festival will be actress Amanda Root - Anne Eliot
in the BBC adaptation of Persuasion - teaming up with the ever popular
actor Ben Whitrow - Mr Bennett in the BBC production of Pride and
Prejudice - to read a selection of their favoutite Jane Austen excerpts.
The
sparks will certainly fly as they take on the roles of Mr and Mrs
Bennett!
Film
showings
The
Festival also offers rare chance to see MGM's classic cinematic
masterpiece, the film of Pride and Prejudice, made in 1940.
The
stunning cast is led by Laurence Olivier as Darcy and Greer Garson
as Elizabeth Bennett - an
unusually successful adaptation of Jane Austen's most famous novel.
The
spirit is entirely in keeping with Jane Austen's sharp and witty
portrait of rural 19th century behaviour.
The
overall effect is truthful and the gentle satire of the novel sits
quietly below the surface, only to rise up and take the occasional
bite out of offending characters at opportune moments.
The
screenplay, by Aldous Huxley and Jane Murfin, retains much of the
novel's famous dialogue (e.g. the opening conversation between Mr
and Mrs Bennett) but adds scenes to "open up" the action.
How
will these compare with Colin Firth's recent famous "wet-shirt"
scene, devised by Andrew Davies for the 1995 BBC adaptation?
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| How
will MGM's Pride and Prejudice, made in the 1940s compare with
Colin Firth's recent famous "wet-shirt" scene? |
How
will Janeites react to the flamboyant costumes and sets, more at
home in a later Victorian setting?
Does
this 1940 version stand the test of time?
Will
Laurence Olivier, rarely better in a part requiring the passion
of Heathcliff strapped into a straitjacket of snobbery, set the
pulses racing?
Or
will Colin Firth, emerging wet and smouldering from the lake at
Pemberley in the BBC version, continue to be the ultimate Darcy?
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The Jane Austen Festival runs from 20 September to 28 September
>>>
The film of Pride and Prejudice is on Monday 22 September at 8.15
pm at The Little
Theatre
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