Fringe Binge 2017 Show #18 - Austentatious, Underbelly, 1330, 08-Aug-17

This show is an improvised comedy in the style of Jane Austen with a title and theme suggested by the audience. We had been handed out pieces of paper in the queue and asked to come up with a title, one of which was then selected at random after three or four had been picked out and read as "unknown Austen works which we cannot get to at this time". This summary has either filled you with dread or made you perk up - certainly a change in pace for me and it was noticeable how much older the audience was (although it was the middle of the afternoon during the week and most Fringe audiences are older during this time of day).

My suggested title, "Fitzwilliam Darcy And The Lost Anklet Of Chastity" was sadly not picked out but the title randomly picked (and which made the assembled troupe laugh out loud in bafflement before they pulled themselves together) was "Jane Austen's What If (Jane Eyre Had Been Written By Jane Austen)?"

The assembled troupe then threw themselves into it with gusto. All dressed in their finest period costumes and with a minimal set they improvised a hugely convoluted plot involving international spies, illegitimate children, secret love, Wuthering Heights, a game called Eggs, unscrupulous literary agents and a secret final chapter penned by Austen to Jane Eyre. The fact that Jane Eyre was actually written by Charlotte Brontë didn't seem to get much of a mention but that was fine - I wasn't looking for historical accuracy.

It was hugely enjoyable. It helps if you like Jane Austen or at least have a liking for these kind of mid-1800s pieces. But you can certainly enjoy the performance, and the improvisational skills of the actors is incredible. I'm sure years of rehearsal mean they can slip in and out of familiar tropes but it still takes a lot of skill and a lot of work to look this effortless and be this spontaneously funny. The crowd and I loved it.

It was a very pleasant start to another long Fringe day.