Cover Image: A towering headpiece, an elaborate gown and plenty of deadpan delivery: Plied and Prejudice leans into the absurd with oversized period fashion. Photo: Supplied.

Plied and Prejudice
Downstairs at the Maj, 23 July 2025

From tequila shots to kissing cousins and bare-breasted motorboating, the landed gentry get a bawdy makeover in Plied and Prejudice.

A boozy and irreverent take, from the outset Wednesday we are “drinking to our lord and saviour, Jane Austen,” and that includes the cast members.

Indeed, if it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman in Regency England must be in want of a very stiff drink (as the marketing materials suggest), Plied and Prejudice gets her drunk.

Specifically, last night it was Melbourne actor Ayesha Gibson (Lizzy Bennet, as well as our narrator) who pulled the short straw, although this changes night to night. 

Downing a tequila shooter every time a cup of tea is mentioned, or a bell is rung, Gibson proves she can hold her booze. The sadist in me hopes to see her stumble over her lines a little less stably, but I guess it’s not called Totally Shitfaced and Prejudice so she keeps it fairly profesh.

Expertly incorporating audience interaction to make up for some 20 characters being played by just five actors, one (un)lucky spectator is spotlighted regularly in a recurring joke, while another marries a thoroughly slimy, slithering Mr Collins (played with scene stealing creepiness by Mandurah sensation RP van der Westhuizen).

All the while things are kept current and winkingly political, with unfavourable references to the likes of Peter Dutton (“Wanker!”) and Gina Rinehart. The latter, we are told, is a good resemblance for overbearing aunt, Lady Catherine De Bourgh, “if her children still spoke to her”. Sick burn. 

(Interestingly, it’s not the first time DeBourgh has been compared to Gina Rineheart on Perth stages, with this production mirroring another recent comedic take on Austen, Bogan Literature’s Pride & Prejudice of 2023.)

Being the Regency Period, there are hundreds of letters sent and nearly as many ballgowns (“They went all the way to the ball and barely even gagged,” we’re assured). Yes, this is a fairly ribald affair and the sight of creepy Collins breastfeeding from Lady “Gina” Debourgh is certainly a sight we’re not forgetting anytime soon.

Big on laughs but short on plot development or breaks for air, it’s loud and in our faces from go to woah. I’m glad we knew the source material well, as key characters such as dastardly Mr Wickham are underdeveloped in this version, considerably diluting his rivalry with Mr Darcy (Patrick Gandin, who dextrously swings between four or five characters in some scenes).

From humble beginnings in Queensland to being received enthusiastically in London, Woodward Productions’ Plied and Prejudice is an Australian success story we can now all revel in. After all, it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a play in possession of good fortune, must be in want of an enthusiastic audience!

Plied and Prejudice recently extended their debut season until 28 September, Downstairs at the Maj. 

For more information, visit:
Plied and Prejudice | His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth