Exploring Jane Austen's unpublished works with improv group Austentatious at The Old Market

The Old Market, Upper Market Street, Hove, Friday, January 29, to Saturday, January 30

A PREVIOUS in-depth knowledge of Jane Austen’s oeuvre is not necessary to enjoy Austentatious – the long-form improvised show based around Hampshire’s most famous literary spinster.

“One of our cast members – we won’t say which one – had still not read any for the first six months,” reveals Graham Dickson, part of the touring cast who bring new and lesser known Austen works to light each night.

“We told him ‘you really have to read Pride and Prejudice’.

“The show takes place in the world of Jane Austen, but in-depth knowledge is not required.”

“We all loved Jane Austen and her works,” adds Cariad Lloyd, who as well as appearing in Austentatious starred in the final series of sitcom Peep Show as Megan.

“The genre choice sprung purely from love to start with. It was only after a few shows we realised how perfect her style and world are for improv. She has a distinct voice for each of her main characters, along with a plethora of beautifully drawn and detailed smaller characters, helping to create an entire world.”

Each performance of Austentatious is based around a single audience suggested title, picked at random from a hat at the start of the show.

Previous titles have included Man-Filled Park, Snakes On A Horse Drawn Carriage and Fear And Loathing In West Hampshire.

With several hundred shows behind them the group has become quite battle-hardened.

“There’s still a visceral thrill of anticipation every night as a title is plucked entirely at random,” says cast member Charlotte Gittins.

“For a few tense seconds everyone in the room holds their breath, invariably followed by a huge blast of laughter as the name of the night’s show is revealed.

“Our past titles have included everything from rap stars and Shakespearean heroes to singing beavers, so it’s safe to say we never have the slightest clue what’s coming. That’s half the fun though.”

Rachel Parris, who co-founded the group with Chichester’s Amy Cooke-Hodgson from the improv group Oxford Imps, admits there have been some strange titles in the past.

“Some of the strangest ones have been when the audience have misunderstood what we were asking from them,” she says. “Instead of a made-up novel, we once pulled out of the hat Hamlet and on another occasion The Ladyboys Of Bangkok which gave our lads a really great showcase for their talents.”

One of the strangest came last year during charity extravaganza Crosstentatious, when the male and female performers swapped their costumes.

“We got Harry Potter And The Death Star Of Death, which created a special challenge,” says Parris. “Not only were we acting out a Potter/Star Wars/Austen mash-up, but doing so with fairly limited knowledge of those two films!

“Some of our favourite titles are the ones which take a twist on the Austen stories: we loved doing Darcy and Bingley: Forbidden Love and Meth Comes To Pemberley was a real cracker.”

All the performers are actors in their own right, with multiple TV credits and even a few individual award nominations. But they all relish working in a group format on the road.

“It’s such a different process performing in a group to being entirely on your own, especially before a show,” says Lloyd. “Being with the rest of Austentatious is a lot more fun to be honest. I love being able to discuss nerves before a show, or deconstruct it afterwards.”

“We get to play in some of the country’s loveliest theatres and meet an incredibly diverse range of audience members,” adds Gittins, adding the word games they play on the road are something she also looks forward to.

“At the start of the tour it’ll just be a few good-humoured rounds of Bananagrams and the like, but by the end we’ll probably be looking at a Regency version of The Hunger Games: all the bloodshed and brutality, only with added bonnets and breeches.

“Improvisation is the perfect counterpoint to solo work. When you script a one-person show you relentlessly hone individual material until your delivery is razor-sharp. In improv the real art is to make everybody else on stage look good.

“Both require a hell of a lot of skill and hard graft, but if you can get them right they’re intensely satisfying.”

Starts 8pm, tickets £14/£12. Call 01273 201801.