Sense and Sensibility
A playful new adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved novel follows the fortunes (and misfortunes) of the Dashwood sisters—sensible Elinor and hypersensitive Marianne—after their father’s sudden death leaves them financially destitute and socially vulnerable. Set in gossipy late 18th-century England, with a fresh female voice, the play is full of humor, emotional depth, and bold theatricality. SENSE AND SENSIBILITY examines our reactions, both reasonable and ridiculous, to societal pressures. When reputation is everything, how do you follow your heart?
“…an unconditional delight…invigorating…a bouncy, jaunty take on Austen…remains remarkably true to the values and priorities of its source. The classic Austen preoccupations with real estate, income, class, reputation and equilibrium in life are all rendered brightly and legibly here.” —The New York Times.
“…so full of galloping comic vitality as to suggest a bunch of stupendously clever kids playing dress-up in the nursery. It’s by far the smartest Jane Austen adaptation to come along since Amy Heckerling’s Clueless, and at least as much fun.” —Wall Street Journal.
“Perhaps the greatest stage adaptation of this novel in history.” —Huffington Post.
“…inventive, faithful, clever and hilarious. Kate Hamill’s marvelous play is one of the finest stage adaptations of a literary classic. Our Jane would have expressed her approval.” —Theater Scene.
“…rowdy, exuberant…thoroughly modern yet not at all contemporized. Kate Hamill’s felicitous adaptation gives us ageless emotions, couched in the mores and locutions of the past, yet timeless in their arduously suppressed intensity.” —Time Out New York.
