Multiple theatre productions of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice are being staged across Australia in 2025, with several adaptations incorporating contemporary social and economic themes.
Key Productions
Bloomshed's adaptation at Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne sets the story against the Australian housing crisis, incorporating modern language and satire.
- Pride and Prejudice (sort of), a Laurence Olivier Award-winning musical comedy, focuses on the perspective of the Bennet household's servants and uses contemporary humour and karaoke music. It has a national tour.
- Wendy Mocke and Lewis Treston's Matilda Award-winning adaptation returns to Queensland Theatre.
- In Tasmania, Pride and Prejudice — An Adaptation in Words and Music features actress Nadine Garner performing a one-woman show, narrating the plot while embodying multiple characters. The production uses live music from Carl Davis's score for the 1995 BBC mini-series.
Thematic Elements
- Bloomshed's production critiques systems that perpetuate inequality, referencing inflation and exploitative landlords.
- The set includes a giant tiered cake as a symbol of marriage and social strata, and costumes use colours from Australian bank notes.
- Gender lines are blurred: Garner dresses in Regency gentleman attire; Swain brings a queer interpretation to characters; Pride and Prejudice (sort of) has a femme-led cast.
- Bloomshed's casting and plot address colonisation.
Context
The novel's core themes of class and inheritance remain relevant in the context of Australia's housing and cost-of-living crises.
Cuts to arts funding have led to productions operating with leanness, including one-woman shows.
The article notes that gender pay gap, motherhood penalty, and other financial threats still affect women's security in modern Australia.