By Graham Hiley.
Of all the screen adaptations of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, it is a truth universally acknowledged that the BBC’s version is by far the best.
With Colin Firth as Darcy, Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennett and Alison Steadman as her mother, the casting is close to perfection. And then… there is Adrian Lukis as the cad Mr Wickham who runs off with Lizzie’s younger sister Lydia.
The unspoken assumption is that it will end badly for both. At best there will be a messy separation; more likely the bounder will meet an untimely end in a dark alley.
But… what if he survived? What if he made it to the grand age of 60 and had the chance to reflect on his life? Would he be a reformed character, married and settled… or destitute and desolate?
That is the delicious premise of Being Mr Wickham, a glorious one-man show starring (and written by) the man who played this renowned rogue.
Lukis originally performed this online during lockdown – but the live version is so much better! In the intimate setting of Chichester’s Minerva Theatre, he is utterly convincing as an older but not necessarily wiser George Wickham.
For 80 minutes in a simple but authentic setting, he holds the audience spellbound as he looks back at his life, his marriage, his rivalry with Darcy and thoughts on Lizzie, his military career and what happened at Waterloo.
Lukis was born to play Wickham. He was immaculate in the TV drama and is equally compelling in this update 30 years on. Still oozing oily charm as he reprises the role, he details a few dalliances with a smug yet seductive smile.
His subtle mannerisms and expressions, his poignant pauses and deadpan delivery make the character totally believable and – just maybe – slightly more likeable.
The script is funny, astute and totally plausible offering fans of the Hampshire author a riveting insight into what happened after the end of her beloved novel as well as a justification for Wickham’s actions.
He delves deep into his upbringing with a backstory which gives a whole new dimension to his character and passionately makes the point that the wealthy can afford to have morals; others do what they can, however they can, just to survive.
While that might not excuse his rakish behaviour, it does at least offer an explanation.
Of course, all of this is very much his own point of view. As he says: “We are never the villains of our own story, are we? Are you?”
Being Mr Wickham runs at Chichester’s Minerva Theatre until Saturday January 24. www.cft.org.uk.
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