The Bennet family is poor and Mrs Bennet knows only too well that her five daughters must make good marriages.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife,” is Mama Bennet’s mantra and she is on the hunt for husbands.
Picked Last for Sport presented a hectic one-hour summary of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice at the Butterfly Club. An easel and butcher’s paper marked the scenes, with accompaniment skilfully provided by Sean Sully on keyboard and Freya Long on guitar.
The ‘sisters’ were portrayed beautifully and comprised Freya Long as a dark ringleted Jane, Sarah Edgar as the smart, proud Elizabeth (Lizzie), Ryan Smith as a petulant Kitty, Sean Sully as a delightfully creepy Mary and Mel Viola as blonde, flirtatious Lydia.
The sisters literally tried on different hats to play other roles. Most played the melodramatic mother – by donning pendulous ‘breasts’ and the ‘sisters’ all gave excellent performances as the many different characters. No-one could compare to the gorgeous Colin Firth, so Mr D’Arcy was wheeled out as a full-size cardboard cut-out with voice-over effects.
The songs were terrific. Sisters was sung at the beginning and end. Caroline Bingley sang Look in the Mirror, a brooding piece, to demonstrate her disapproval of brother Charles’s courting of Jane.
All songs were accompanied by effective dance moves from the cast. When Lizzie visits magnificent Pembroke, D’Arcy’s property, Coming over the hill hilariously depicts her growing ardour for D’Arcy, as our hero strides up the hill, his wet shirt clinging to his frame. Lizzie’s bosom fairly heaves with sexual desire.
Finally, Lydia and Wickham, D’Arcy and Lizzie and Bingley and Jane happily wed. Which leaves Kitty pouting and Mary fiercely pounding the piano.
This was a pacy production and as an adorer of Pride and Prejudice, I was thrilled with this manic version of my favourite book.

• Review by Juliet Charles