Jane Austen Unscripted: Tea at Pemberly

Does Improv Mix with the Regency Era?

I recently stumbled upon a new discovery while lost in my mindless Instagram scrolling (that I should definitely start managing, I know). It was this trailer for a production of a Jane Austen play that is improvisational and I – of course – dove right into research for my next blog post directly after taking a moment to marvel at how impressive Instagram’s algorithm is.

When I looked up the website online, I found that ticket prices for these live shows range from $75 to $85. This is an ongoing production that was once held inside at a theater and then shifted during the spring to be held outside in a courtyard at the Impro theatre for the second season of its production. My grandmother would love to see this because when my sister and I were kids, she used to take us to the local tea-house for tea and lunch where they served mini sandwiches and desserts. Those were some of the fondest memories I have of my grandma, so I think that this is a show that I would greatly enjoy going with my grandmother, sister, and mother with since tea is served along with the show!

The way that the play functions is they draw inspiration from live audience input and director Paul Rogan creates a storyline out of the suggestions. It is then up to the actors to *loosely* follow the plotline, but develop their characters and keep their audiences interested along the way!

Based off of the videos I watched from my phone when going to the account, I was impressed with the adaptability of the actors. One of the prompts given by the audience was “If Jane Austen wrote Squid Game.” The actors of course had no proper props or sets to put on this production, but they handled the difficult assignment well, with one of the actors comedically pulling out an invisible gun.

I think that this is an extremely challenging job for the staff of Jane Austen Unscripted. To begin by attaching the production to the name of one of the most influential artist puts so much pressure on the show. To attempt to make the characters as lovable as they are in the original novels takes time and practice. To add another level of complexity by making the show comedic requires the cast to juggle multiple facets of the show at once. From what I’ve seen, I’m very impressed by the skill of these actors.

I personally think that this is a really interesting idea. After learning about it I was immediately jealous that I didn’t live anywhere near the Garry Marshall Theatre in California. I really would have loved to see it live, but I was happy just to watch clips of the production on my phone. I think that just the fanfare of the Austen world, with the proper English dialect, period piece clothing, and exaggerated emotions of the characters of the novels are a great source of love surrounded by the world of Austen and the way that Jane Austen Unscripted cleverly ties in comedy with classic Austen elements makes for an extremely enjoyable production.