Wakefield brings Sense and Sensibility

Wakefield’s teenage actors are getting their heads around the wordy dialogue of Sense and Sensibility for six shows in the village at the end of this month.

Director Hugh Neill says the play, put on by Wakefield Country Players, is an upbeat version of the classic story about sensible Elinor and her hypersensitive younger sister Marianne, after their father’s sudden death leaves them financially destitute and socially vulnerable. It revolves around their love, romance and heartbreak amid late 18th century gossip.

The Jane Austen novel was published anonymously by ‘a lady’ in 1811 and sold out in its first print. Its success continues and today’s young actors are getting a taste of a bygone period.

“Jane Austen may come across as a bit wordy for today’s audiences, but they’re wonderful stories. If you know the novel, you’ll know the dialogue. For the younger ones, it’s a bit of a challenge because nowadays we talk a version of shorthand. So, it has been a challenge to get the feel of the dialogue. I’ve got a really good cast where the youngest is 10 and the oldest is 68."

“It’s a big commitment, but everyone gets behind it and it’s fantastic.”

The show takes to the stage on 29 November, with the now traditional ‘bring your own picnic’ in the Wakefield Village Hall.