Wickham was a charming militia officer who manged to attract
the sympathy of the heroine Elizabeth Bennett. She believed Darcy to have mistreated
Wickham in the past and it took the interaction of her aunt to forewarn her
that the path to happiness was most certainly not to be found in George
Wickham. As the story continues, the aunt’s warning plays out and it is
revealed that Wickham is a manipulative cad. He is a wastrel, a compulsive
liar, a seducer and live the life of a rake…in fact Jane Austin doesn’t really
have anything nice to say about the man.
Now whilst I could never envisage dear Lizzie Bennet ending
up with the dastardly Mr Wickham, I must confess to having a bit of a soft spot
for him; I mean think of Dolokhov in Tolstoy’s War and Peace, you’re not really
supposed to like him, but there’s just something utterly compelling about these
characters. I think Dolokhov was rather misunderstood, the question is, was
George Wickham?
‘Am I to be the villain of my own
story?’
You may recall that our last image of Wickham is when Darcy
forces him to make an honest woman of Lydia Bennett after he has eloped with
her. So, what happens to Wickham after Pride and Prejudice has ended? Adrian
Lukis is back as Mr Wickham and this play he has written and stars in attempts
to provide an answer. It’s time to push Mr Darcy to one-side and give George
Wickham a chance to put the story straight, after all, he isn’t going to tell
the same tale that Jane Austin would.
It is Wickham’s 60th birthday, following a
flirtation at his party, his wife Lydia has stormed off to bed leaving him all
alone with a bottle of claret and a whole host of memories for company. Just as
we can’t forget Mr Darcy, neither can he, his takes us back to his earliest encounter
with Darcy when they were children, through the period we bore witness to in Pride
and Prejudice, to what happened after they were both married. There are often
two sides to a story, and the storyteller will always tell you the rose-tinted
spectacle version.
Adrian Lukis is a charismatic actor, making you hang onto his every word as he draws you back into being complicit with Wickham’s bad boy behaviour of the past. Wickham’s currently worried by his diminishing looks and his aging knees, "I'm told I'd pass for 40" … "on a good day." That pause, that sigh, the raised eyebrow…how can you not be transfixed by this scoundrel?
Being Mr Wickham is a
fervent defence of a man the audience knows cheated and lied to gain every
advantage he could. He was willing to accept his life as a vicar. He genuinely
loved Georgiana. He had a perfectly acceptable defence of his elopement with
Lydia. He has told these stories to himself so many times that he now truly believes
in them. His trip down memory line is so far apart from Jane Austin’s you’d be
forgiven for thinking that two different people were being explored. But this
is what makes the play so engaging – to hear a different perspective. Austin
would be horrified that Wickham could potentially have a softer, kinder side,
but we know from his past he manipulated those around him…and a leopard doesn’t
change his spots. Just as Elizabeth Bennett fell for his charms, he now has a
whole audience eating out of his hand, hanging onto his every word as he charms
his way through this hour-long production making the audience laugh along the
way.
‘When Lydia is happy, I am happy; When Lydia is
asleep, I am delighted.’
It’s a well-balanced play; whilst there’s a melancholy to
some of his reminiscences, there are elements of light to the shade, although
often these lighter moments point to a life that’s not as happy as it may seem,
‘When Lydia is happy, I am happy; When Lydia is asleep, I am delighted.’ As he
wanders over to the window to watch the comings and goings of his neighbours,
his excitement is palpable about the possibility of his next-door neighbour’s
daughter eloping.
The writing is particularly vivid as Wickham recalls the
Battle of Waterloo; the walls of the set turn dark, and a military uniform appears
from what were frosted windows, and he recalls the demise of his dear friend
Denny, shot next to him on the battlefield. He Byronesque persona shone through
as he recalled the losses of various courtesans he knew and loved, and other
people who had passed through his life who were no longer there to share in his
current trials and tribulations.
We journeyed through all his life…his childhood and his
mother abandoning him and how young Darcy took the wrap for young Wickham
stealing a bottle of Brandy. We learnt how unhappy he was at school, how Darcy
paid him off instead of him having a career within the church and how he spent
that money chasing wine, women and song. How he remained with Lydia because
they made each other laugh, but despite everything this was not a man to feel
sorry for. He has had his ups and downs like anyone else.
Just as Colin Firth is Mr Darcy, Adrian Lukis is Mr Wickham
and it was a delight to see the character brought back to life as the layers of
his life were peeled away like an onion. There was a reason he could charm the
Bennett sisters, and throughout the evening he charmed the audience just as
easily. It was a joy to watch this thoughtful “sequel” to Pride and Prejudice
which fans of the novel could delight in and an even bigger joy and surprise
when Adrian returned to the stage as himself to take part in a short Q&A
session which was just as entertaining as the play.
If you ever get the chance to see this delightful one-man
show – take the opportunity as it’s worth it.
2021 Tour dates:
Darlington Hippodrome (11-12 October)
York Theatre Royal (14-16 October)
The New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich (19-20 October)
Connaught Theatre, Worthing (21-22 October)
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford (28-30 October)
The Haymarket, Basingstoke (1-2 November)
Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne (4-6 November)
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