The Enfield Haunting – Theatre Royal, Brighton – Saturday 18th November 2023

(Rated 2.5/5) So, the draws for this one was myself and my partner actually directly knowing one of the investigators – Guy Lyon Playfair from the Society for Psychical Research -of the real-life case of poltergeist-related events experienced by an ordinary, working-class family – the Hodgsons – living in a council house in Enfield… and, for me, Catherine Tate 😉

Having read a few reviews – including one by another SPR member – I wasn’t expecting to be wowed, but I was also thinking – well, for drama, things will get exaggerated or added, so, yes, it’s going to be disappointing for anyone wanting to see ‘the truth’ of what happened or be educated about the case, but it could still be a ‘good’ piece of dramatic art. However, for me, it was even worse than lacking in truth! As a fan of drama, and having written plays myself, I know you need to up the ante, show and not tell the characters and experiences in all their glory, and create dynamics between them for them to bounce off each other so to speak. Writer Paul Unwin, who spent a good few hours with Guy, being told about the case, played the recordings and shown photographs of the 11-13 year ols daughter – Janet – being involved in many of paranormal occurrences, made some odd choices for his docudrama treatment of this story, which I really would not expect from an award-winning drama writer. There was a huge amount of exposition – often around Guy – who never appeared as a character himself in the play, and yet was painted as somewhat at odds with fellow investigator Maurice Grosse – who appeared in the form of David Threlfall – and the events that had already happened prior to this one night of investigation, which Paul had limited himself to in staging the play. There’s talk about mother Peggy (Catherine Tate)’s abusive husband – all tell and no show – why not bring him in? – well instead a neighbour was brought in as a kind of love-interest, in whom Peggy was not really interested. Maurice was presented as kind of ineffectual, with all sorts of challenges as to why he was there – to which he’d always respond to help the family, and lame chat about how everybody was tired – well so were the audience, shifting around uncomfortably in their seats as though there was more poltergeist-induced drama around them, than on stage. I even felt the actors seemed bored as the ‘plot’ roamed around aimlessly in a very lacklustre fashion. In fact, when the stage finally went dark for the final time, at least one audience member asked ‘Is that it, have they finished?’

Now, it could of course be argued that we saw an early performance, and the actors haven’t really got into the swing of things yet, but I fear they may never do so. The script doesn’t really seem to give enough ‘business’ or mettle for them to get engaged with that and/or each other. Nobody really had a story arc. I did joke before going, that I hope Catherine doesn’t come out with ‘Am I bovvered? Does this face look bovvered though?’ – to the poltergeist – but that might actually have woken us up. When ghostly effects happened, nobody seemed very scared, and there was no real interaction with them. A few good special effects, but too detached from the activity – or non-activity – on stage amongst the supposedly live human beings. The performances were ok, but again, as all good actors will tell you, they are nothing without a good script. One personal aspect of Maurice’s true life story was used – as a connection between him and the case – and to kind of increase the stakes for his character, but so much more could have been done with that to make it effective drama. If you are going to twist the facts to fiction, at least make it worth it. Ella Schrey-Yeats was very good as haunted Janet Hodgson. Everyone else ok with what they were given. I’m not sure what else to say. I’m glad I’ve seen it, as knowing those for whom it was part of their life work, I was curious to do so, but I can only say I’m kind of glad Maurice and Guy are no longer around to be disappointed or upset by it.

The Enfield Haunting – Review by TheRestrictedReviewer © 2023

Octopolis – Hampstead Theatre, Downstairs – Saturday 14th October 2023

(Rated 4/5) Octopolis is a beautiful little play jam-packed with ideas, concepts, observations, science, philosophy, psychology, religion, metaphor, emotions, detachments and attachments. It explores human-human and octopus-human relationships and the intellectual capacity and potential scope of awareness and consciousness of both animals. Could an octopus believe in God? Is it possible for octopus’ consciousness and intelligence to in fact develop beyond that of a human. And the most beautiful aspect of it for me; sixteen limbs dancing to David Bowie!

George – Jemma Redgrave – is a behavioural biologist studying Frances, the Octopus – herself in a screen at the back of the stage – who changes colour and ‘form’ according to the ‘action’ being demonstrated or to which she is responding. George has recently lost her husband – they worked together studying and interacting with Frances. Harry – Ewan Miller – invades George and Frances’ bubble together. He is an anthropologist assigned by the university to study them both. From George’s point of view, he is not welcome. Does that change? Do she and Frances come to accept him? I’ll let writer Marek Horn take over the explanation at this point as I couldn’t possibly explain it any better!: “The play follows a behavioural biologist and an anthropologist; both professional practitioners of close observation. They watch the octopus and each other, and they watch each other watch the octopus. Over the course of this watching, both George and Harry share their observations about the other with the audience and, in so doing, reveal far more about themselves than they might have intended. It is, then, a play about competing subjectivities and the illusion of objectivity. It’s about trying to remain detached and getting sucked in all the same. In this way, the characters’ emotional trajectories and their professional preoccupations feed each other.”

Another aspect of this I love, not quite mentioned by Marek, but maybe just obvious in any case, is we the audience and Frances the octopus, are also of course making our own observations and responding to the interactions on stage from our own ‘stuff’ – to use a very lay psychological term! My theatre companion and I had our own individual wishes for the outcome for the characters and observations of how they came across, which didn’t quite match up! Amusingly we’d been discussing our equally individual observations on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ partnerships earlier in the afternoon and found those didn’t always match up either. Observations are always inevitably subjective, however objective we are trying to be and I feel in something that engages our emotional and intellectual capacities, inevitably clouded by our own ‘issues’ – to use a less lay, slightly more professional psychological term 😉 (Me and my theatre companion’s issues matched when we couldn’t bring ourselves to go say ‘Hi’ to, and get a selfie with, a certain Sam Ryder – whom we saw after our lunch together - and then experienced Ryder-regret for the rest of the afternoon lol.)

Writer Marek also explains in an interview with producer Greg Ripley-Duggan, that his script started much longer (100 minutes in length in the final edit), and he had to pare it down after leaving it for a time to be able to maybe get a fresh and perhaps more objective view on it. That reminded me of a technique used in psychotherapy to freely write everything you might want to express to someone without any self-editing as you go along, and then later select what you may want to actually say to them! A way of processing and getting to the core of your ideas, loves, challenges and wishes. For some audience members, I imagine it was still a little too concept-packed, and for others, I imagine there may well be a curiosity as to what got lost in the editing process. I noticed one reviewer seems to have missed the point of the play. The human characters – at least in the outset – speak in observations on each other – using a description of the other’s actions and he/she said. I took this to be their scientific observations – again as though they were writing a paper on their ‘experiments’. This ‘reduces’ as they become more involved with each other. I thought it a brilliant use of dialogue to illustrate just one aspect of the nature of the play. Just as designer Anisha Fields uses the effects resulting from the movements or emotion or environment triggered colour changes to illustrate the presence of Frances.

Octopolis is directed by Ed Madden and also has a movement and intimacy director Angela Gasparretto. Both did a brilliant job, in the wonderfully intimate space of ‘Hampstead Downstairs’. The audience really couldn’t be any closer to the performers and that only adds to the power of the experience with them through the play.

I’ve docked a mark just because I wonder if it’s a little too heady and not enough hearty in its balance, but yet again that is of course a subjective view… and being heady and detached and maybe trying to avoid being more hearty and attached, is very important to the whole play concept and progression. Maybe my mark docking has more to do with not being able to grasp everything in one attendance of it, but that just argues for going to see it again! I would recommend going to see it at least once 😊 Octopolis – Review by TheRestrictedReviewer © 2023

Barbie – Cineworld, Wood Green – Saturday 19th August 2023

(Rated 5/5) We finally did it; put on our pinks for Barbie's movie! I've deliberately avoided - as much as possible - seeing any reviews or information about it, and went in with no expectations, aside from Margot Robbie saying 'It's about life' - yep she managed to sneak that passed my avoidance. It's narrated by Helen Mirren - first big wow and respect. It has a vast amount of depth, and psychology, and politics, and sociology, and history, and vibrancy, and pink!! Genius directing and writing with Noah Baumbach) by Greta Gerwig! Extremely good!!! (A member of TFL staff at Turnpike Lane took our photos with the Barbie poster. At one point she said to my companion 'You're blocking Ken"... highly significant as anyone will know who's seen the film )

P.S. I was going to expand on this, but my step-daughter told me it was a ‘great review’ as it is, so leaving this as maybe the shortest one I’ve ever done! Barbie – Review by TheRestrictedReviewer © 2023

A Strange Loop – Barbican Theatre – Saturday 5th August 2023

(Rated 5/5) I absolutely love the concept behind ‘A Strange Loop’. In fact, it is just my cup of tea, and I wish I’d had the idea myself! It is the story of Usher, who is a Broadway theatre usher and who is young, black, gay and a little tubby around the tum, and in the show, Usher is writing about Usher – theatre usher, young, black, gay, tubby – who is writing about Usher – theatre usher, etc, etc, etc, etc. You get the idea, I hope. And which came first in this strange loop, Usher, or Usher, or indeed Usher, wherever you start you get back to the origin being the destination, just like the age-old argument about the chicken and the egg. So, it’s very philosophical. It’s also very psychological. The supporting cast all play a ‘Thought’ each. For example, one thought transmits Usher’s ‘daily dose of self-loathing’, another his kind, encouraging inner self-talk, and another… there are six in total. They are like sub-personalities in a sense, and throughout the show shout ‘stuff’ (my word for issues, if you like) at him, while he is trying to make his way along internal and external paths, being obstacles or supporters in his physical, metaphorical and inner psychological journeys. At points they embody real characters in his life – his mom, dad, a potential date on a train. And of course, Usher interacts with all of them – dancing, singing and moving from concept to concept, scene to scene, as he tries to figure out what his show is all about. Of course, the thoughts and characters have their own ideas on that and again help, hinder, or even hijack his process. There’s plenty of fun, laughter, sadness and angst along the way. Various themes are explored as Usher attempts to discover who he is as he faces the difficulties of the multitude of factors about him, that would lead to conflict with culture, the church, the community, white, straight, men, women, and all other others, which may lead him to feel like an other, who does not fit! We had ‘Alternate Usher’, played by Kyle Birch. We thought he was brilliant. Such a wonderfully sensitive singer and performer. The songs in this show are lovely, poignant and catchy too. In fact, I have decided I am going to list the titles as they speak for themselves in relation to each of their focuses: ‘We Wanna Know’, ‘Inner White Girl’ (my favourite right now), ‘A Strange Loop’, ‘Intermission Song’, ‘Memory Song’, ‘Inwood Daddy’, ‘Exile in Gayville’, ‘Tyler Perry Writes Real Life’, ‘Intermission Song’, ‘Periodically’, ‘Precious Little Dream/AIDS is God’s Punishment’, ‘A Sympathetic Ear’, ‘Boundaries’ and ‘Second Wave’. As always in any musical each song contains so much of the essence of the character singing it and their story. Usher himself sings in all of them (I think!), so they tell the story of all his selves… with and without masks… in union or in conflict with the selves of others etc. I know I want to listen to them all over and over again to get everything. Perhaps I need to get a copy of the script too. That brings me to my only complaint about the show itself… American English really is a different language to English English, and at points Usher and his thoughts were talking so fast my poor little English ears couldn’t keep up or my brain didn’t understand, so I believe I missed a fair bit. Then again, I also feel it’s a show you’d need to see over and over again to get everything contained within it. It was adapted a little from the Broadway version for London audiences, as I understand it, but I reckon some things don’t quite translate anyway, which is fine. Just a consequence being elements get lost in translation, which in a way fits with the themes of the play around not being understood or accepted. In looking through the programme, I was amazed at how many producers this show has! I counted 27 of various types, including Johannes Radebe, Alan Cumming, Stephen Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw. There is also an intimacy director and drama therapist. Michael R. Jackson is responsible for the play, music, lyrics and vocal arrangements. Apparently, it all started as a monologue he wrote in drama school, and which took many years to become the show it is today. He is very clever writer in my view, and I think a legend in America. We had very front and very side seats in the circle. At first, we thought they were comfortable, but soon they turned out not to be – I did a lot of shifting myself around. But, they were ‘cheap’. The staging and production are superb though – colourful, glitzy and wild!

Yes, if you find yourself interested in the show from what I have written, I would highly recommend it. And as Johannes said, it educates as well as entertains. If not, then it simply may not be your cup of American tea 😉 A Strange Loop – Review by TheRestrictedReviewer © 2023

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – Cineworld, Wood Green – Saturday 15th July 2023

(Rated 7/5) My mum’s support of my teenage obsession with Harrison Ford was the reason Dad got our first VHS recorder on Christmas Eve, 1983. ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ had been released on videocassette in early December, and the VHS tape of it was obtained by Mum as one of my Christmas presents. That cassette was responsible for our choice of VHS over Betamax! Even though I adored Mr Ford, I had not yet seen ‘Raiders’. My brother and I were told we would be allowed to watch it Christmas morning – it would keep us entertained from 5am, so our parents didn’t have to get up until a more reasonable hour! I would then have been sweet sixteen, (weirdly in my head I was younger than that, but that’s how the maths works out!) R2D2 had been my first screen idol when I was 10 years old and saw ‘Star Wars’ after taking my high school entrance exam, and I remember struggling with the lights of the light sabres! However, as soon as puberty hit, that swashbuckling, cheeky Han Solo caught my eye, and a remote, imagined love affair with Harrison started. That first watch of ‘Raiders’ was SO exciting! Harrison was even better as Indiana than as Han Solo, and Marion Ravenwood – played by Karen Allen – was such a superb smart and sassy heroin. She wasn’t just there as love interest, or to look pretty (though she did), she was very much part of the action. She was Indy’s ‘Goddamn partner’! In fact, the scene which introduces Marion to the audience inspired me to have a go at screen writing myself. From Marion in the drinking competition, through ‘Indiana Jones, I always knew you’d come walking back through my door…’ up to ‘See you tomorrow, Indiana Jones’, the audience is told so much about both characters and their back stories. The whole film is a non-stop action-adventure romp, yet not just a boy-film/shoot-‘em-up – the whole structure is beautiful – introducing Indiana Jones right in the thick of one adventure in search of an ancient artefact from the start, through him being a professor at university, to carrying on his journey to discover the ark of the covenant with historical and mystical interest thrown in all the way. It’s an edge of your seat thrill-ride, with poignant calmer character-moments to provide little rests and strong emotional interest in between. All characters are so well developed and have all become so loved by all the Indiana Jones fans. We see the journeys the main characters take via maps on screen – a little like GoogleMaps of today, though of the age (1936). There are comedy moments – that scene when Indy is faced by a swordsman – Harrison had stomach ache – so instead of a long sword fight as scripted, Indy simply takes out his gun and shoots him – and points of high drama and peril. Nazis feature strongly – they wish to use the power of the ark of the covenant for their own ends. It’s a feast for your eyes, ears and heart. All the following Indiana Jones films have a very similar structure – start with action in one adventure, pause for some poignant character-moments, maps showing us the long journeys to wherever, more action in a slightly different adventure, fun, charm, drama and challenges. For me, ‘Temple of Doom’ was disappointing compared to ‘Raiders’, but now notable for a young Ke Huy Quan playing Indy’s side-kick Short Round, who has since won an Oscar for his role in ‘Everything, Everywhere, All At Once’ – presented to him by Harrison. Doom’s heroin was far too yelly and pathetic imho, but notable for being played by Kate Capshaw – director Stephen Spielberg’s wife. I absolutely adored ‘Last Crusade’- most for exploring the relationship between Indy and his dad – Henry Jones Snr – played so wonderfully by Sean Connery – but also bringing back Raiders’ Denholm Eliot as the delightfully dippy museum curator Marcus Brody and John Rhys-Davies as the devoted friendly Sallah. River Phoenix played a young Indy. But no Marion. She returns in ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’, which tbh I have only seen once! It was interesting as had the son to Indy & Marion, played by Shia LeBeouf, and of course Indy and Marion reunited. But that is about all I remember! So, what of ‘Dial of Destiny’ – well right back up there in quality for me. And Harrison has a sensational new side-kick in Phoebe Waller-Bridge – who said yes immediately when offered the role! It is also, for me, notable in relation to the absolutely adorable interviews with Harrison – in many with Phoebe – and seeing how he wanted to tell this story of older Indy – and see him through to the end of his career. All he says is so charged with emotion, and in fact as a Mr Ford Fan, I couldn’t recommend his message to fans re Indy more (https://www.facebook.com/reel/652493883447598), and all the other little videos of him responding to interviewers about his journey with the character. Seeing all those I felt proud of myself for choosing Harrison Ford as my first human screen idol! A genuinely lovely guy, who cares about all the causes we all need to! Phoebe plays Indy’s god-daughter – her father is played by Toby Jones – who is also in search of Archimedes Dial. The film absolutely has all the best and familiar Indy film qualities. And I found myself very interested in the actual history behind Archimedes and doing my own investigations into what was fact and what fiction. This adventure takes Indy on a journey, the likes of which he has never fully faced before. And leads him to a choice with consequences of huge proportions. Me and my friends thought it might be bittersweet and indeed it is. But it is a true testament to Indiana Jones with the kind of resolution I imagine might satisfy most fans.

P.S. I went as a Marion-Indy combo with their ‘baby’ monkey and an Indiana Jones hat, which we all had a go at wearing 😊 P.P.S. I think I’ve pretty much avoided describing plots and giving any spoilers! 😉 Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – Review by TheRestrictedReviewer © 2023

Dr Semmelweis – Harold Pinter Theatre – Saturday 8th July 2023

(Rated 7/5) The supremely superb actor Sir Mark Rylance, not only plays revolutionary Hungarian scientist and doctor Ignaz Semmelweis in this production, but also imagined and wrote this play about him, having read Celine’s surrealist novel, exploring Semmelweis’s life and work. Mark Rylance has assembled a wonderfully rich team of actors, musicians, dancers, designers and other artistic talents to convey Semmelweis’ story, as though from within his own mind and without too, using his wife Maria Semmelweis – played by Amanda Wilkin – to narrate his story from an external – yet also of course emotionally connected – point of view, along with those other performers to illustrate the workings of his mind scientifically, creatively and psychologically. We are introduced to Vienna hospital and the key ‘issue’ in the play by means of young expectant mother, Lisa Elstein – played by dancer, (though as is important to both this production and in addressing Semmelweis’ medical discovery, she, like everyone else is a holistic performer in a piece addressing holistic issues and not just microscopic particles), Chrissy Brooke. As she arrives, she is clearly in labour and asking to go to the midwives’ rather than the doctors’ ward, as a friend has told her there is more risk to her health and potentially life, in the doctors’ ward. This plants a seed into the audience’s and Semmelweis’ mind – again holistic as it is really as though we are all inside his head experiencing this whole process with him – we are all members of his scientific research team. The staging also adds to that feeling and experience. On the stage itself we are in a dark black space, with the characters playing as though within or as background to the main action in Ignaz’ drama. Often the expectant or new mothers appear in the stages of labour or in various phases of puerperal fever in the periphery, whilst doctors are performing or discussing their work in the centre. However, it is not just the stage that is used by performers – they appear at different times all round the entire theatre space – I had a violinist and a dancer perform right next to my seat by one of the exits. Performers also literally join the audience as audience members for a play within the play, and later as medics at a conference quizzing Ignaz as he tries to explain his new ideas from the stage. And what of those ideas? New physician Semmelweis is starting his work as a ‘junior doctor’ in the middle of the nineteenth century, around the same period when Charles Darwin was developing his equally revolutionary and important ideas on evolution. The whole first act of the play is focused on how Ignaz came to his conclusions – beautifully explored as experiments performed through music, dance and mime – with a little discussion thrown in. You literally feel like it’s all passed in just five minutes – there is no heavy science or debate as such to deal with. Though, in reality poor Ignaz – who had great difficulty in expressing himself, which of course added to his problems challenging the supposed knowledge of the time – had a great deal of backlash and heavy challenge as he tried to go against the assumed wisdom of his superiors and some peers. I won’t spoil the story and your voyage of discovery – yep in my mind is Darwin’s voyage on The Beagle and his observations on the Galapagos islands as I write this sentence – as potential audience members for future performances of this play – but suffice to say Semmelweis had to wait until his superiors were away, to undertake the studies, which would lead to his discovery of the causes of death of some of the new mothers in his, and his team’s care. Playing another key role in that care was midwife Anna Muller – beautifully and compassionately performed by Pauline McLynn – who agreed – with other collaborators amongst the doctors – too many characters/performers to name everyone specifically – to try various scenarios to test theories in search of answers. That core factor for Semmelweis was the putrid-smell-causing “death particles”, which he observed in autopsies – we now call them bacteria. With that understanding, came the concept of hand-washing in diluted chlorine between patients – and so happily a reduction in deaths amongst the new mothers – fewer cases of puerperal fever – and later, the development and use of anti-septics. The Neo-Darwinists of today would have us believe that similar tiny particles solely involved in evolution are those of the DNA in our genes. However, in concluding that, they are misrepresenting Darwin and also rejecting Jean-Baptiste Lamarck before him. Lamarck conceived the concept of inheritance of acquired characteristics – and later Darwin would propose the idea of “gemules” – now called exosomes – which enable the inheritance of those characteristics acquired in an organism’s lifetime. Yes, I am aware this may appear to be my going off at a tangent, however, I am simply providing yet another example – see also Nick Smurthwaite’s piece on ‘The Quiet Pioneers’ in this play’s programme – of scientists or other practitioners – who have made crucially important and revolutionary discoveries, that were blocked – or sadly even worse – as they went against the grain of the contemporary wisdom of their time. For further detail on this particular example of the current ‘Evolution Revolution’, I encourage readers to look at ‘Understanding Living Systems’, by Raymond Noble and Denis Noble. I have heard some say theatre is simply there to entertain us – to provide an escape from reality. But, I feel the best theatre is there to also educate us, to relate to us as we feel it resonate with something in our own lives, and to challenge some of our values and beliefs as well as hold and affirm us in others. In director Tom Morris’s piece ‘What is a Radical?’ in the programme he finishes with: ‘The greatest soliloquy writer of all challenged theatre makers “to hold, as ‘twere, the mirror up to nature” and it is surely true that any live collaborative act of storytelling will reflect the concerns of the age and society in which the story is forged. The play you will watch this evening is our collective response to Semmelweis’ story and the world we live in now, inspired by the talent and vision of a brilliant theatre artist. It is both the story of a wild outsider battling against his world, and a reflection on what seems to me to be the greatest need in our society now; to balance incisive vision with patience, kindness and the capacity to listen.’ Mark Rylance’s Dr Semmelweis is a tour de force of a theatrical production telling a highly poignant, challenging, radical, visionary story of science and a man’s life with the greatest sensitivity and compassion together with charm, laughter, sadness and inspiring all the emotions in between. As he always does, Mark Rylance puts ever so much of himself into the production – and yes again holistically! He is involved, I believe, in almost every aspect. Of course, none of us can know Ignaz Semmelweis himself, but Mark inhabits a great thinker, who is kind and caring, yet facing a monumental challenge of increasingly sever opposition, cracks into vulnerability and a struggle to mentally face the storm. We are shown with such powerful visuals and music, how difficult it can be for someone to confront and change imbedded positions and the toll that can take on them personally and professionally. It is the story of one man, but it is also the story of many men and women. Unlike Ignaz himself, Mark is superbly supported by all the creative performers involved. Oh, what a different story it could have been if it had been so for Semmelweis!

I couldn’t recommend this more for entertainment and intellectual and emotional education! Dr Semmelweis – Review by TheRestrictedReviewer © 2023

The Jane Austen Centre – Sunday 19th March 2023

(Rated 5/5) The truly lovely Jane Austen Centre is located on Gay Street, the same street Jane Austen lived during some of her time in beautiful Bath. As Jane wrote in ‘Northanger Abbey’, “I really believe I shall always be talking of Bath, when I am at home again – I do like it so very much… Oh! Who can ever be tired of Bath?” Not Me! It’s like a mini-version of Oxford in terms of wonderful architecture and history, but with seagulls lol and celebrating different periods of time – The Regency and Roman times! OK, so quite different to Oxford haha, but they both have some very special post boxes, with one of Bath’s being a landmark on Google Maps! (A Victorian Penfold Hexagonal on Pulteney Street.) But I digress... The Jane Austen Centre covers Jane Austen’s relationship with and time in Bath, as well as many other aspects of her life and creativity. On show is art of Jane and her family, displays relating to Jane’s experiences and the history of her time – The Regency period - also clothing, perfumes, examples of her writing and exhibits showing how her books have been adapted for TV and film. You can sit at a desk similar to Jane’s and write a letter to her using a quill pen and ink well. You can play dress-up and perform a scene with Mr Darcy! And meet a Madame Tussaud’s created waxwork of Jane Austen, based on a likeness of her produced from descriptions by her family and those who knew her directly. ‘Staff’ are on hand everywhere to answer questions or simply have a chat re anything and everything Jane Austen related. The very best aspect of the experience is that all the guides are dressed and interact with guests (visitors) as characters from Jane’s books. The little group of three I was in had Miss Georgiana Darcy, sister to the famous Mr Darcy from ‘Pride and Prejudice’, as our guide. She was perfect as Georgiana, I was reliably informed by usher ‘Mary Elliot’, who was clearly a big fan of ‘Persuasion’ – which she highly recommended and which I have not yet read – that some of the guides were so convincing in the characters of say Lady Catherine de Burgh – that guests thought they were being rude! No, it’s the character! I loved the enthusiasm from Mary as she talked to me about ‘the mystery dress’, held up a letter from Jane to her sister Cassandra so that I could take a photo of it and demonstrated how she could only read the first little bit – Jane’s writing was so small! - and told me the centre had been visited by Emma Thompson (in a puffer jacket), who donated pictures from the production of ‘Sense of Sensibility’ for which she got the Oscar for best screenwriter, along with a letter of praise about the centre. My favourite part, though, was when Georgiana asked me what was my favourite colour to wear as I approached the ‘set’ with Mr Darcy (post-Pemberley-swim though not wet 😉) in it. She dressed me up in the closest dress (with a little purple in it) – put on like a hospital gown, before being tied like a corset at the back to produce the best Regency bust-flattering tummy-hiding look! I’ve decided I love Regency dresses! Added a shawl to cover my own clothes peeking out at the top, a bonnet and I chose a parasol to complete the look. She then directed me in a little scene sitting on the bench, looking across at a distance to a beautiful sight, standing with Mr Darcy and looking lovingly into his eyes… until he comes out with a proposal of marriage alongside offensive comments about my family! Ever so much fun! Many, many thanks to Miss Georgiana Darcy! On my way out was the shop! On my way in I had a little look and thought I’d maybe get a little Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy figures, but going out it had to be books! The first Jane’s very first piece of writing on the Kings and Queens of England – but with no dates – the one reason I didn’t choose to take my study of History further in school was because I couldn’t remember dates and thought that mattered very much – clearly not if one of our greatest writers could get away without them! The second a Lucy Worsley biography of Jane Austen. (I so love Lucy Worsley!) And well the third one I couldn’t find at first – Georgiana and Mary had informed me of it – an illustrated book with the surviving letters of Jane (some destroyed by sister Cassandra after Jane’s death) and a commentary – by a lady with first name Penelope! – which as I was asking for it – a certain gentleman, who may have resembled Mr Wickham (I’m guessing) – handed to me with such charm, I found I had no choice but to purchase also! 😉

My only disappointment was a later engagement meant I couldn’t spend as much time as I would’ve wished and visit the tea room. Though, apparently, being Mother’s Day it was all booked up for the entire day! So, I will have to return one day for that tea with Mr Darcy, so long as I receive an apology for his offensive comments, he calls me his ‘Dearest, Loveliest…’ and tells me how he ‘ardently admires and loves me!’ TheJaneAustenCentre – Review by TheRestrictedReviewer © 2023