4 out of 5 stars

Is Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” a British farce at heart? Guildford Shakespeare Company’s new adaptation aims to make it so. Three game actors play 18 parts, getting laughs from inventive costume changes and quirky gender reversals – sometimes merely swapping bows or hats, or in one memorably winking sequence, repeatedly repositioning a tablecloth. (Some comic door-slamming would have helped complete the picture.) The multiple characterizations take a while to clearly separate themselves, but then Austen’s familiar creations emerge – some authentically, some lampoonishly -- and her well-loved romance winds to its satisfying conclusion, taking a surprisingly fresh path to get there. — Adam Z. Horvath

Part of “Brits Off Broadway 2025” at 59E59 Theaters, through June 29, 2025; 59e59.org. (Review date: June 8, 2025)