IT is time to let your imagination run wild with a performance of a Jane Austen classic. Northanger Abbey, one of the romantic novelist’s more overlooked gems, whips up a fantastical gothic story of love, betrayal and murder.
And it is coming to the Headgate Theatre in Colchester on May 7 and 8.
Northanger Abbey follows Catherine Morland, a naive 17-year-old who has a bit of an overactive imagination.
She is whisked off to enjoy Bath’s high society and is invited to stay with a new friend, Eleanor Tilney, her brother Henry and father, the General, at Northanger Abbey.
A fan of gothic novels, Catherine immediately pictures Northanger Abbey as a dark, frightening place, something Henry teases her about.
But as time goes on, she discovers things are not that scary after all, until she learns of a mysterious suite of rooms that are out of bounds.
They did belong to Mrs Tilney, who died nine years previously, and coupled with the General’s abrupt nature and apparent indifference to his wife’s death, Catherine’s imagination starts to stir again.
Did he murder his wife? Or is she still alive and living somewhere locked away in the house?
As always, Austen doesn’t disappoint and there are romances being played out in the background which wrap themselves within the main storyline.
Often witty and generally good fun, this production of Northanger Abbey will be performed by the Black Ram Theatre Company, already well known in the region for their productions, such as Twelfth Night and Jane Eyre.
The prolific company produces five shows a year and Northanger Abbey is its 11th production.
Run by director by Ross McGregor, formerly the artistic director who has Six Degrees of Separation and Hamlet under his directorial belt, the Norwich-based company works in the old repertory style and has ten tours under its belt.
The cast of ten is led by Jennifer Kirby as Catherine Morland and Tom Hartill as Henry Tilney.
Northanger Abbey is at the Headgate Theatre on May 7 and 8 from 7.45pm. Tickst cost £9 or £8 from the box office on 01206 366000.
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