Classic Romance with a Modern Twist
Pride and Prejudice the Final Ballistic Spectacle for the 2024/25 Season
By Kate Hamill
Adapted from the Novel by Jane Austen
Directed by Rebecca Northan
April 29 to May 17, 2025
Opening Night Friday, May 2, 2025
Spriet Stage
Season Sponsor:
BMO
Downtown Community Partner:
Old Oak Properties
Title Sponsor:
Women for Women
April 22, 2025 – London, ON – Prepare your finest attire and join us for the grand finale of the season. The Grand Theatre’s 2024/25 Season wraps up with the timeless classic Pride and Prejudice, like you’ve never seen before! With a bold contemporary twist, this beloved story takes centre stage on the historic Spriet Stage from April 29 to May 17, 2025. Hold on to your bonnets, this Regency love tale is about to get evermore thrilling!
Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice revitalizes the story for a new generation while maintaining empire-waist high expectations. Artistic Director Rachel Peake reflects on Jane Austen’s unrelenting appeal: “The thing Austen gets very right, that defines her ability to last through time, is the way she sets humour alongside social commentary.” Peake explains. “Kate Hamill mirrors Jane Austen’s humour and updates it for the 21st century. Hamill has beautifully captured her voice and brought it forward to our modern times... It ends up feeling like the hands of these two writers are reaching together through time.”
Think Netflix’s smash hit Bridgerton with a generous splash of Mean Girls wit, and you’ve got Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice, which made its debut at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in 2017. While the story’s central themes, like the dangers of quick judgment and the societal pressures placed on women, remain relevant, Hamill’s adaptation brings a fresh and feminist perspective to the beloved classic. First published in 1813 by English author Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice has remained arguably her most popular work among both scholars and readers for generations.
The motivation behind Hamill’s adaptation wasn’t rooted in popularity, but in a commitment to gender equity on stage. “Kate Hamill's decision to adapt Pride and Prejudice, though, comes not out of a pursuit of popularity, but out of a desire to see more women on stage, in classic roles, also being hilarious,” explains Rebecca Northan, director of Pride and Prejudice. “I am happy to say that our production clocks in at 75% female representation on stage, and 88% representation on the Creative Team!”
This hilariously unapologetic story centers around the four distinctly different but wonderfully lovable Bennet sisters: Meet Jane (played by Raechel Fisher) the gentle beauty, Mary (played by Sarah Wilson) the sulking goth, Lydia (played by Lior Maharjan) the free-spirited troublemaker, and Lizzy (played by Beck Lloyd, last seen at the Grand Theatre in Controlled Damage, 2023) the strong-willed and witty protagonist. Caught in a whirlwind of misunderstandings and misjudgments, Lizzy’s refusal to bow to societal expectations means she wants nothing to do with Mr. Darcy (played by Eric Craig, last seen at the Grand Theatre in The Hobbit, 2011),an awkward yet undeniably charming gentleman (though not in Lizzy’s eyes). Will love prevail over all the pride and prejudice? This fresh and playful adaptation brings Austen's characters to life with gender bending flair, laugh-out-loud comedy, and all the heart of the original classic.
The Grand Theatre is thrilled to welcome award-winning, multi-talented artist Rebecca Northan as the director of this production. While she may be stepping into the director’s chair this time, Northan is no stranger to our stage. Audiences will remember her captivating solo performance in Every Brilliant Thing (2020), as well as her dual roles as performer and director in the hilarious interactive Spontaneous Theatre creation Blind Date (2018) and in An Undiscovered Shakespeare (2018), a co-production with the Stratford Festival. Her most recent success, Goblin:Macbeth(Stratford Festival 2023, Tarragon Theatre 2024), offered a wildly humorous spin on the classic Shakespearean tragedy. As a director, Northan consistently pushes the boundaries of storytelling, blending her distinct theatrical style to craft unforgettable experiences for audiences.
“I have had the joy of witnessing the unfolding of love and laughter throughout our rehearsal process,” reflects Northan. “I hope this production will touch your heart, and make your sides ache, and your eyes water as much as it has done mine.”
The creative team of the London, Ontario production of Pride and Prejudice are: Rebecca Northan (Director), Krista Leis (Choreographer), Brandon Kleiman (Set Designer), Joanna Yu (Costume Designer), Sophie Tang (Lighting Designer), Maddie Bautista (Sound Designer & Composer), Stella Conway (Assistant Sound Designer), Kelly Luft (Stage Manager), Suzanne McArthur (Assistant Stage Manager), Tsz Ting Lam (Apprentice Stage Manager).
Audiences at the Grand Theatre will be treated to an extraordinary group of talent from across Canada. This production marks eight Grand Theatre debuts. Among the talented company, the Grand is delighted to welcome back a selection of returning artists: Eric Craig (The Hobbit), Carmen Grant (The Syringa Tree, Fly Me To The Moon, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams), Kate Hennig (Girls in the Gang, Jacques Brel…, Liars, Mad Ballades, Secret Garden, My Way), and Beck Lloyd (Controlled Damage).
Pride and Prejudice
By Kate Hamill
Adapted from the Novel by Jane Austen
Director by Rebecca Northan
APR 29 to MAY 17 (Opening Night May 2)
CREATIVE TEAM
Rebecca Northan - Director
Krista Leis - Choreographer
Brandon Kleiman - Set Designer
Joanna Yu - Costume Designer
Sophie Tang - Lighting Designer
Maddie Bautista - Sound Designer & Composer
Stella Conway - Assistant Sound Designer
Kelly Luft - Stage Manager
Suzanne McArthur - Assistant Stage Manager
Tsz Ting Lam - Apprentice Stage Manager
CAST
Eric Craig
Mr. Darcy
Raechel Fisher
Jane / Miss de Bourgh
Carmen Grant
Mr. Collins / Mr. Wickham / Miss Bingley
Kate Hennig
Mrs. Bennet / Servant
Beck Lloyd
Lizzy
Lior Maharjan
Lydia / Lady Catherine
Andrew Moodie
Mr. Bennet / Charlotte Lucas
Sarah Wilson
Mary / Mr. Bingley
Pride and Prejudice plays on the Spriet Stage from April 28 – May 17, 2025. Single tickets range from $24-$96 (Subject to Availability), and are available at www.grandtheatre.com, by phone at 519.672.8800, or at the Box Office, 471 Richmond Street. There is a Pay-What-You-Can performance on Sunday, May 4 at 2:00 p.m. (Pay-What-You-Can tickets become available online at midnight on the day of the performance, with a selection of tickets held for in-person purchase one hour prior to the performance at the Grand Theatre Box Office). Indigenous Community Ticket Program is available to those individuals who identify as Indigenous, for only $20 you can experience the final production of the 2024/25 Grand Theatre season. As well as a performance with ASL on Saturday, May 10, at 2:00 p.m.
The Grand Theatre gratefully acknowledges Season Sponsor BMO, Downtown Community Partner Old Oak Properties, Title Sponsor Women for Women.
To learn more about Pride and Prejudice, please visit https://www.grandtheatre.com/event/pride-and-prejudice. Additional facts, photos, and updates can also be found by following @thegrandlondon and #GrandWaitress on Facebook, X, Instagram, BlueSky and TikTok.
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The Grand Theatre is located on the traditional territories of the Original storytellers and caretakers of this land and the Nations, both settler and Indigenous, who continue to uphold the various treaties of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, and Lunaapéewak. We value the significant historical and contemporary contributions of local and regional First Nations, and all of the Original Peoples of Turtle Island (colonially known as North America), and acknowledge the traditional lands upon which we live, work, share, and tell stories together.
ABOUT THE GRAND THEATRE – WORLD CURIOUS. LONDON MADE.
The Grand Theatre is known for world-class theatre created and built in London, Ontario. As southwestern Ontario’s premiere producing theatre and one of the most beautiful theatre spaces in Canada, the company has deep ties to the community and to its artists, artisans, and technicians.
As a vibrant cultural hub and not-for-profit professional theatre, the Grand serves to gather, inspire, and entertain audiences in London and beyond. At our home in downtown London, we create productions on two stages: the Spriet Stage (839 seats) and the Auburn Developments Stage (144 seats). The Grand season of theatrical offerings runs from September to May, and we collaborate with companies and artists across the country through our co-productions that see London-made artistic and creative work travel to audiences nation-wide. Through our successful New Play Development Program, the Grand is committed to developing and premiering new, original works and supporting the growth and reach of theatre writers and creators. Our recently renovated venue offers a contemporary and welcoming environment that is also home to several successful music series’, community arts rentals, and cultural and special events.
A cornerstone of the organization is our place as a teaching theatre, exemplified in our many mentorship programs and highlighted in our annual Grand Theatre High School Project. As the first program of its kind in the country and currently in its twenty-sixth year, the High School Project involves as many as one hundred high school participants annually from schools across the region. These students participate at no cost and take on roles both on stage and off, in a fully realized mainstage production under the direction of a professional creative team.
For more information, visit: grandtheatre.com.
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For more information please contact:
Maria Siabato, Communications and PR Specialist
msiabato [at] grandtheatre.com (msiabato[at]grandtheatre[dot]com)
office: 519-672-9030 ext. 266
MEDIA CALL
When: Tuesday, April 29 at 1:00 p.m. (Cameras, please arrive at 12:30 p.m. to set up)
Where: Spriet Stage, Grand Theatre, 471 Richmond Street, London, Ontario
What: Pride and Prejudice photo, video, and interview opportunities for media.
Media Library: Hero shots, Grand Theatre and Production photography*
*Production photography will be available Tuesday April 29, 2025.
