Emma is The Pantaloons at their very best

Posted on 23rd May 2023

Those coming to a show by The Pantaloons expecting a faithful adaptation of their favourite novel might come away disappointed. However, those more familiar with their style will enjoy this riotous, irreverent and hugely entertaining evening. Ironically, Jane Austin’s Emma is singularly suited to their fast-paced, physical and funny approach. This famously misguided eponymous matchmaker is just the sort of silly protagonist that the company enjoy poking fun at.

It would be unfair to point to individual performances when the very point of this fine ensemble cast is that they share their infectious enjoyment with each other and the audience. It’s an audience that was split into two. Many must have been doing their best to follow the labyrinthine plot of a chunky novel distilled into a couple of hours. The cast had a lot of fun mocking the impossibility of such a task – not least by chastising characters for turning up when they’d been written out of this version. Other will have enjoyed the retrospective irony of having read the book and know what’s coming. It’s a testament to the skill of this adaptation that the company managed to serve both masters.

Apart from a bizarre interlude featuring Play Your Cards Right – which was about as odd as it sounds – this was a surprisingly faithful retelling of a novel that (who knew) lent itself nicely to being sent up. I can’t pretend to have attended every Pantaloons production over the years, but the focus has often been on mocking serious works. Injecting comedy into Macbeth, The War of the Worlds or the Odyssey required the company to lampoon, whereas here they worked with the novel, highlighting the comedy that was inherent in the text. I think it made for a more satisfying theatrical experience which, to my mind, made this their finest and funniest show to date.