Lifeline Theatre Presents PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: A VIRTUAL PLAY Review — A Classic Gone Modern

In Lifeline Theatre’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: A VIRTUAL PLAY, we see just how deep class boundaries are and who is willing to break them for romance.

Lifeline Theatre’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: A VIRTUAL PLAY is portrayed through Zoom, with each character up close to their screen, reciting lines and portraying complex figures first penned in 1813 in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Backgrounds range from a busy bookcase to a simple dining room wall—allowing us to focus all the more on the performances of our at-home actors.

Physical setting aside, for this reviewer, the largest idea to overcome was that this love story born out of another, bygone era could come to life in modern day. The old-world charm of grand balls and the responsibilities of high-class life meet new-world inventions—such in the case for Mr. Darcy, an anti-social elite, is updated to our time.  Here, we see him burying himself in his cellphone at a party when trying to avoid guests.

Similarly, while the modern setting adds a twist, those familiar other renditions of Austen’s classic tale as this writer is may sense a new twist in the characters.  Lizzy, the lead protagonist, for example, is more understanding this time around—when more often than not, in more traditional renditions of this story she is portrayed as quick to judge or perhaps cold.