Pride and Prejudice Part 2: Napoleon at Pemberly
Westport Country PLayhouse
By: Karen Isaacs - Oct 28, 2026
Jane Austen fans may have very mixed feelings about the world premiere comedy at Westport Country Playhouse through Saturday, Nov. 7.
Pride and Prejudice Part 2: Napoleon at Pemberly by Ken Ludwig presents us with an Elizabeth Bennett Darcy who is unlike any other Elizabeth I’ve ever seen. As a fan of the novel and Austen, this rendition of her was both irritating and disconcerting. The Elizabeth who I saw on the stage was more life her flighty sister, Lydia than the thinking and intelligent woman Austen wrote about. In fact, Lydia was more like Austen’s Elizabeth.
It may be a cop out to take well known characters and simply put them in a new situation. Certainly, many people bring expectations and familiarity of the events leading up to the start of the play. In case you didn’t, Ludwig opens the play with the device of Elizabeth writing her sister updating her providing some brief recaps of the novel.
What saved this production for me and so I enjoyed parts of Act 2, was the terrific acting of Reg Rogers as Napoleon, Kristine Nielsen as Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and the quite changed Lydia (Lucy Austin.) A plus is Emily Mann’s direction which keeps everything moving, so you don’t have time to realize how far fetched it is.
Ludwig writes mostly farces – Lend Me a Tenor, Moon Over Buffalo, A Fox on the Fairway, and the book for musicals such as Crazy For You and On the Twentieth Century.
This play doesn’t feature as many doors as most farces though the premise is similarity ludicrous. The British government is guarding Napoleon while the ship which will take him into exile on Elba is being prepared. Elizabeth, while Mr. Darcy is away, is asked to house the fallen Emperor and she agrees. So, Napoleon comes to stay – with his aide de camp, British soldiers on the lawn, and his dominating personality. Darcy is not pleased.
It seems that after one year of marriage and life at Pemberley, Elizabeth is restless. But it is not just Napoleon who arrives. In short order the pompous and snobbish Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Darcy’s aunt, arrives with her submissive daughter in tow; then Elizabeth’s sister Lydia. She is still a flirt and loves military men. Finally, Mr. Collins shows up. In case you don’t remember him from the novel, he is the male relative who inherited the Bennett property when Mr. Bennett died. Lady Catherine is his patroness; he’s the rector of her parsonage. He is the epitome of foolishness and boringness.
But don’t think too much about the plot which doesn’t withstand close scrutiny; it really makes very little sense.
Instead, enjoy the beautiful drawing room designed by Beowulf Boritt, the period costumes by Jennifer von Mayrhauser, and the fine acting. You will feel sorry for Tony Roach who, as Mr. Darcy, has little to do.
But you will marvel at Reg Rogers’ Napoleon; he is mercurial, annoying, and yet, somehow endearing. Kristine Nielsen uses every little gesture and expression to create a Lady Catherine who is the epitome of both a snob with no self-awareness. You might think this Lady Catherine isn’t frosty enough.
Delphi Borich as Elizabeth, is burdened with being the center of the plot; she does a good job at reconciling this Elizabeth with the one we know from the book and films.
Most of the audience the night I saw this thoroughly enjoyed it. How you respond may be based on your willingness to suspend disbelief.
Tickets are available at WestportPlayhouse.org