Sep. 24, 2008 - Issue #675: Run For Covers

Prevues - Pride and Prejudice

 Jane Austen’s literary prowess is a universally acknowledged truth: her novels are timeless meditations on love and society, read and revered as much in the present as when they were originally published almost 200 years ago.

Jeremy Baumung is a relative newcomer to Austen fandom: though he’d given her work a read in the past, the 24-year-old actor now holds a newfound respect for the author, since he’s embodying one of Austen’s characters in the Citadel’s season-opening adaptation of Pride And Prejudice.
 

 “I tried reading the book once before, and couldn’t really get into it,” he admits over the phone. “As I got to read more when we were out [in Banff], I kind of found this new appreciation for Austen.”
 

He’s playing Mr William Collins, the priestly male heir to the Bennet estate and cousin of the Bennet sisters. Like most of the characters, he’s looking for a spouse, and while he searches, his cousins are intrigued by the arrival of a few eligible bachelors, including the boisterous Mr Darcy. The eldest Bennet, Elizabeth, is repulsed by him—which, of course, intrigues him.

 

The production marks a Citadel first; a collaboration between the theatre and the Banff Centre for the Arts. For 15 weeks, Baumung and the rest of the cast (plucked from a nationwide casting call) workshopped the play and honed their acting abilities, attending masterclasses in scene study and vocals while working on Pride and Prejudice.

 

They presented an early version in Banff, and since then, they’ve spent their time tweaking the production for its Edmonton debut—a generous extension that Baumung points out to be a rarity with theatre.

 

“Usually you get like two weeks, three weeks tops to rehearse a play,” he says. “But we’ve got these extra weeks in Edmonton to jam on things a little bit, and it’s been great to delve deeper, further into the piece.

 

“It’s not that when we put it up [in Banff] that we weren’t ready and things weren’t solid, because they definitely were,” he explains. “But coming back here, it’s like a gift for an actor, to solidify things even more.” V



Pride and Prejudice

Directed by Bob Baker

Adapted by Tom Wood

Starring Jeremy Baumung, Lally Cadeau, Tim Koetting, James MacDonald

Thu, Sep 25 - Sun, Oct 12

Citadel Theatre (9828 - 101A Ave ), $50 - $100

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