Review: BEING MR WICKHAM, Jermyn Street Theatre

Photo credit: James Findlay

Every story needs a villain and in the Jane Austen classic Pride and Prejudice, George Wickham fills this role. But now it's time for Adrian Lukis, who played Mr Wickham in the beloved 1995 BBC TV adaptation, to return to the role and set the record straight.

Being Mr Wickham joins the titular character on the eve of his sixtieth birthday. George Wickham is feeling reflective and after a night of frivolity and an argument with his wife, surprisingly still Lydia Bennett, he retreats to his private parlour to ponder his life. What really happened all those years ago for him to lose the favour of one of literacy's favourite characters, Fitzwilliam Darcy? Of course, this is not the only story Mr Wickham has to tell and over the course of sixty minutes, he reminisces about his younger years and the audience are left to decide if this lovable rogue is worthy of redemption.

As antagonists go, the famed Mr Wickham is relatively harmless and Lukis, who also wrote the play, portrays him with charm and wit. He is also incredibly self-aware and this is reflected in the hilarious and heartfelt writing. Lukis and his character are under no illusion that Mr Wickham is an image of perfection but as we pull back the layers, it is revealed that perhaps this regency rogue is not entirely to blame. The original title of Pride and Prejudice was ‘First Impressions’ and as Mr Wickham recalls Mr Darcy’s famous line, ‘My good opinion, once lost, is lost forever”, we can see how the events of his childhood shaped the man he became. Mr Wickham can be viewed as a man of his time, a Regency rake, unfairly treated by Mr Darcy largely due to jealousy and their difference in station.

One-person shows can be hit and miss as their success relies so heavily on the performance of their actor. There are no problems here; Adrian Lukis is a truly accomplished performer. You can see how much he is enjoying returning to the role of his youth. There is a line about how Mr Wickham does not look a day over forty, which is apt as his physicality is brilliantly effervescent as he breathes life into this literacy villain.

Directed by Guy Unsworth, all of the action of Being Mr Wickham takes place against the backdrop of a 19th Century parlour, designed by Libby Watson, complete with a quickly dwindling decanter of red wine. A soundtrack of piano music by Max Pappenheim elevates the atmosphere and charts the emotions of the story. The Jermyn Street Theatre is a wonderfully intimate space to host this performed memoir full of Mr Wickham’s funny and derisory opinions and anecdotes. The set includes a window which links the action to the outside world as Mr Wickham reacts to things he sees. Mr Wickham also calls to off stage characters, namely his wife, and shares updates on the Bennett Family. These are useful devices that create brief pauses in the story and ground his exploration of the past in the present.

Ultimately Being Mr Wickham lacks any huge revelations and we learn little new information beyond the beloved story. However, we gain some valuable context and get to properly meet and understand Mr Wickham. This reminiscent regency romp is charming and endearing and well worth a watch for any Austen or Pride and Prejudice fan.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Sophie Luck

Being Mr Wickham plays at Jermyn Street Theatre until 22 June, with further info here.