The Arts Club Theatre Company presents a new take on Jane Austen’s classic tale of reputation and romance as Kate Hamill’s Sense and Sensibility takes to the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage from March 2 through April 4.
Hamill takes a story we know and injects a theatrical joyfulness to it that makes it feel both identifiable and fresh. – director Rachel Peake
The Dashwood sisters, who are left desperate and destitute after the sudden death of their father, have become the talk of 18th-century English society.
While rumours surround their future and fate, the sensible Elinor and sensitive Marianne must navigate passion and prejudice in Kate Hamill’s “cheeky” adaptation of Austen’s novel.
“Hamill takes a story we know and injects a theatrical joyfulness to it that makes it feel both identifiable and fresh,” says director Rachel Peake. “She leans into the playful mischief of Austen’s writing in a way that allows us to enjoy time travelling but also see the story through a modern lens. It is full of heart and full of comedy.”
“I wrote Sense and Sensibility because I believe so deeply that the classics belong to everyone. When we ensure that narratives of all types can take center stage, we know that we can all be protagonists, no matter our gender or background or circumstance. We can be heroes — or heroines — of our own stories.” – playwright Kate Hamill writing for the Portland Center Stage at The Armory production of Sense and Sensibility in 2019.
Originally programmed for the company’s 2020-2021 season, artistic director Ashlie Corcoran read eight stage adaptations of Austen’s novel, falling “in love with Hamill’s immediately.”
“She has taken the words from the page and made them ready to leap off the stage with this fresh and feminist adaptation that is deeply, and joyfully, theatrical,” she says.
The Arts Club Theatre Company presents Sense and Sensibility at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage (2750 Granville St, Vancouver) from March 2–April 2. Visit artsclub.com for tickets and information.