By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
A NEW Geelong theatre company has innovatively adapted classic Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice.
Skin Of Our Teeth will stage its production at Geelong High School’s Shenton Theatre until 29 August.
The deliciously witty comedy of manners, love, passion and the perils of courtship kept moving along smartly, said director Christine Davey said.
“I adore the book and, while there are adaptations around, I felt for this production at Shenton we needed to do our own.
“There’s so much packed into the book revolving around these wonderfully spirited and independent women.
“We wanted to be careful to do justice to the story and the characters while keeping the pace moving along.”
Davey explained that the production had taken an innovative approach, including extensive use of images instead of just relying on sets, to retain the focus on the performance.
Skin Of Our Teeth was a recent addition to the wealth of Geelong theatre companies, with the mantra of doing things “just a little bit differently”, she said.
“We like to do a season of original works where new and emerging playwrights can have their work put on.”
The company plans to present Book of Love next March, featuring four short plays with the theme of love.
“We’ve called for submissions for those and we’re getting interest from around the globe,” Davey said.
“We’re dedicated to presenting exciting, egalitarian and fabulous theatre, whether it be original works, classics, adaptations or something just that teensy bit out of the box.”
With a wealth of experience as a writer producer and director, Davey said she was always on the lookout for new additions to the Skin Of Our Teeth family.
The theatre company had already won a swag of awards at one-act play festivals, she said.
