Botanic Gardens, Glasgow
Three stars
When Jane Austen wrote in 1815 of how the heroine of the novel she was about to begin was a woman ‘whom no one but myself will much like’, one might presume she was about to create a monster. As it turned out, and as was established in the book’s first line, Emma Woodhouse turned out to be ‘handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and a happy disposition’. She may have been the sort of beauteous untouchable who breezed through life in a way that leaves the rest of us swooning, but she’s a nice girl, really, even if she is the sort of person for whom the phrase ‘check your privilege’ was invented.
So it goes with Jennifer Dick’s new stage adaptation of Austen’s yarn, which in Gordon Barr’s open air production for this year’s Bard in the Botanics season stays true to its posh frock roots to make for a delightful summer confection.
Esme Bayley’s Emma is a thoroughly modern young woman who burls through the nineteenth century English drawing room social scene getting everybody hitched while staying resolutely above any notion of the dating game for herself. Inbetween fending off over amorous clergymen, most of Emma’s energies outside matchmaking are spent sparring with the equally combative Mr Knightley, a family friend who mysteriously seems to pop up within five feet of Emma whenever anything is going on.
Even Emma, alas, is unable to remain immune to the crotch-led charms of her old governess’ prodigal son, Frank. One way or another, then, Emma is having a ball. When her in built sense of superiority is rightly called out, however, the merry dance of extended courtship she has unwittingly embarks upon sees her finally meet her match.
Bayley is smart-girl charm personified as Emma, holding court on Heather Grace Currie’s powder blue ballroom set as she sets other lives in motion. James Boal provides a stiff-upper-lipped counterpoint as Knightley, while there is much fun to be had among the coterie of couples Emma has brought together. This is ramped up even more among the grown ups, with Alan Steele doing a daft old crone routine as Mrs Bates worthy of music hall. Isabelle Joss, meanwhile, plays assorted wives and mothers with the stifled sauce of a Carry On film. The overall result is a deftly woven rom-com that goes beyond Austen’s pages to ramp up its evergreen appeal.
The Herald, July 20th 2026
Ends
Comments