Kate Hamill’s ‘Sense & Sensibility’ @ Allen Contemporary Theatre

Photos by Andi Pace

—Jan Farrington

You wouldn’t think the sudden appearance of a horse-drawn carriage onstage would get a burst of laughter from the audience…but that sort of visual surprise comes along every other minute in playwright Kate Hamill’s tremendously fun and clever adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility at Allen Contemporary Theatre.

It’s become Hamill’s theatrical stock in trade: keeping much of Austen’s witty original dialogue (and the time period) intact—yet somehow giving the story a more modern, snarkily humorous twist—and making the emotions and motivations of the characters reach out to us, clear and impactful.

Not exactly an update…but a comic re-fresh. Frankly, I don’t quite know how she does it. Hamill, for example, set the “romantic games” story of her Pride & Prejudice on a basketball court (a buzzer signaled the end of scenes). The tone and humor of the piece hit us very differently, even though the manners, the words, and the outfits were much the same as ever.

Director Kathleen Vaught and a memorable cast have put in the work—and it shows. S&S is a story in perpetual motion, full of small bits of stage “business” that add up to something marvelous. The familiar old saying that “tragedy is easy, comedy is hard” hits home as we watch ACT’s energetic cast swirl and dart around the stage, changing accessories and costumes, prancing about to move furniture into place, leaning in—and transforming from one personality to another in a split second.

Hamill came up with another simple yet important “concept” for Sense & Sensibility: the hovering presence of the community—eavesdroppers and gossips, always listening, judging, commenting. In the Britain of Austen (late 1700s, early 1800s) there’s no radio, no TV, no movie theatre down the lane. Other people (especially the “better” families of Austen’s town and country stories) are the entertainment—and goodness, the “viewing public” is around all the time. They listen at windows, hover at the edges of rooms, pass through with an ear aimed at the conversations, and spill the tea to everyone they meet. The cast members play double or triple roles—and five of them are “Gossips” in one scene or another. Definitely the ancestors of social media types, who can’t leave anyone’s business alone!

Hanna Destiny Lynn and Shea McMillan play Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, one steady and sensible, the other emotional and impulsive. Left almost penniless when their father dies suddenly, they move to a small rural cottage with their mother (Anne R. Such plays her as gentle and wise)—because brother John (Derek Finch gives him a ditzy air), who inherited everything, is persuaded by his greedy wife Fanny (Kate Beckett has a voice like an evil cherub) that no, her Dashwood in-laws don’t need to stay at the family home, or get an allowance for support. Just helping them move (far, far away) is enough of a good deed.

Somehow, SIL Fanny has a very nice brother named Edward Ferrars (Christian Black shows us his sweet side and honest heart); he and Elinor seem a good fit. The move to the cottage separates them, but Elinor has hopes—and Marianne (who has a Romantic habit of walking out in thunderstorms) is rescued by hunky bachelor Willoughby (Finch again, but as the Byronic lover).

The two sisters generate genuine chemistry, even when they quarrel. They’ll need that bond, because the love stories (as you’d expect) don’t go smoothly at all. Will they, won’t they get together…and who will get in their way? The youngest Dashwood daughter, sweet and nosy Margaret (Odette Parker), tickles us by doubling as Elinor’s wily and underhanded rival for Edward, Miss Lucy Steele—and Mrs. Dashwood becomes Lucy’s talkative, trailer-park-ish sister Anne.

Out in the sticks, though, the Dashwoods find some fascinating one-of-a-kind friends. Carol M. Rice plays Mrs. Jennings, a wealthy landowner and matchmaker who takes the Dashwood girls under her wing, as if they’ve been friends for ages. She winkles out the initial “F” as belonging to Elinor’s beau, and is sure she can round up some eligible suitors for the pretty Marianne (starting with the stalwart, older Colonel Brandon, played with a growing appeal and dignity by Brian Sullivan).

Mrs. Jennings is alarming and charming all at once: she bosses everyone, but with the best of intentions. Her odd, monosyllabic daughter Lady Middleton (Beckett cracking us up again) shares the house, along with her out-there husband Sir John Middleton (Alex Eding). Both Rice and Eding create outstanding presences onstage. Their characters live life to the max, and it almost seems a pity they weren’t born in the same generation: they’d have made quite a pair!

Kristin Moore’s period costumes are very well done, in soft fabric colors that (whether intentional or not) let the dialogue remain the star of the show. Kathleen and Kevin Vaught collected the many good sound effects—the invisible dogs are especially “real” on the stage. And the set itself (put together by master builder Bill Wash) makes terrific use of a center-stage turntable to let scene changes be fast and fluid.

The softly lit back wall has dozens of hanging costume pieces and accessories, and also provides a silhouetted runway for actors passing through (always in character) from stage left to right, or vice versa—a big round of applause to movement choreographer Theo Moers, who kept everyone on the go.

Please don’t take this as snooty…but I did see the Bedlam Theatre Company’s world premiere production of Sense & Sensibility in New York, at a venue just off Washington Square—and starring playwright Hamill as Elinor. The stage was a long, narrow space, with seating along both sides and actors, props, and scenery rushing up and down at a fast clip.

And I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Allen Contemporary’s different-but-engaging take on the show. Clever, constant stage movement created a high sense of energy, and the able (and very well-rehearsed) cast brought plenty of emotion and fun to the proceedings. Good going, ladies and gents—huzzah!

WHEN: August 15-31, 2025
WHERE: ACT, 1201 E. Main Street, Allen TX
WEB: allencontemporarytheatre.net