History set to made at Empire Theatre with Queensland Theatre Company production of Jane Austen classic Pride and Prejudice

It has been fuel for dozens of movie adaptations, countless miniseries, fan fictions and plays, and now Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice is coming to the Empire Theatre.

Queensland Theatre Company Pride and Prejudice leads, Andrew Hearle and Maddison Burridge, playing Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. (Photo: Oh Tilly Photography)

History will be made at the Empire Theatre tonight with the venue set to host the opening performance of the Queensland Theatre Company’s Pride and Prejudice.

It will be the first time the company has debuted a production outside of Brisbane.

Co-director Bridgett Boyle described herself as a Jane Austen purest but has nonetheless offered a contemporary twist on this iconic piece of English literature.

“With this adaptation we wanted to honour this beautiful, classic work which I happen to think is the best novel ever written, but we wanted to give it what we called a contemporary sparkle,” she said.

Through the eyes of the main character Elizabeth, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of the Bennet family as it navigates its declining status among the nobility of Regency England with four daughters looking to secure a marriage.

“In Jane Austen’s world, these young women had to get married,” Boyle said.

“It wasn’t just a journey of romance, it was a journey of necessity and we wanted to kind of interrogate that.”

Queensland Theatre Company Pride and Prejudice leads, Andrew Hearle and Maddison Burridge, playing Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. (Photo: Oh Tilly Photography)

The story revolves around Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy, a wealthy and aloof antihero who, while noble and honourable, is bound by his pride and high status.

It was a role made famous by Colin Firth in the BBC miniseries.

“There have been so many adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, just say Colin Firth in a wet shirt and everyone goes, yes I’m with you,” Boyle said

“So we needed to bring our own approach to that.”

Tickets for the two performances are selling fast.

Empire Theatre general manager Giuliana Bonel said she hoped the Pride and Prejudice performance would be the first of many QTC debuts in Toowoomba.

“We’re so incredibly excited that the Empire is hosting the season opener of QTC’s Pride and Prejudice,” she said.

“We have a huge theatre, so we can actually host some very big performances here.

“It makes it easy for QTC to start here and then go into the playhouse at QPAC.”

Tickets are on sale at the box office or the Empire Theatres website.

Originally published as History set to made at Empire Theatre with Queensland Theatre Company production of Jane Austen classic Pride and Prejudice