Sarah Singleton in search of a lost Jane Austen novel

PERIOD drama fans will be delighted to learn that comedy players Austenatious have saddled the horses for a Grand Tour of the United Kingdom – with a stopover at Swindon Arts Centre on the way.

The company will be calling in tomorrow to improvise a new ‘lost’ Jane Austen novel, based on a title suggested by the audience. So step back in time to the early 1800s, don your Regency frock, pull on your breeches, tie on your bonnet, and join Swindon’s gentlefolk for an evening of romance, intrigue and wit.

Star of the new £10 note, and author of perennially popular novels such as Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility and Emma, Jane Austen is much loved for her fine writing, dashing heroes and spirited heroines.

Now this mistress of witty dialogue, whose novels inspired countless costume dramas in film and on television, is enjoying a new lease of life, as the fine fellows and gracious ladies of Austentatious conjure up hilarious new stories exploring some familiar themes.

With a cast made up of the country’s quickest comedy performers, Austenatious are fresh from six sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, a monthly residency in London’s Leicester Square, and a BBC Radio 4 special to mark the bicentenary of Austen’s death.

Now their show will be appearing at two dozen theatres across the country, to entertain and astonish audiences in equal measure.

Pervious new ‘lost’ masterpieces by the author of Pride and Prejudice have included Sixth Sense and Sensibility, Double-O Darcy and Mansfield Shark.

Performed in period costume with live musical accompaniment, this will be a Regency treat for Austen novices and die-hard fans.

“We are thrilled to be travelling the length and breadth of the country, rediscovering the lost classics Austen wrote, and promptly forgot about. We love and admire Jane’s works and the public deserve an intimate acquaintance with them, particularly the very prescient ones about Donald Trump,” said an Austentatious gentleman.

The performance is recommended for anyone aged 12 and over, and tickets are £16.50, with concessions available. To book, call 01793 524481 or visit swindontheatres.co.uk.