There are many adaptations of English novelist Jane Austen’s works around the globe. Closer home, Melbourne-based Sharmini Kumar is set to showcase her adaptation of Austen’s final much loved novel, Persuasion—demonstrating the enduring appeal of Austen’s wit and ideas. The Margins of Persuasion, written and directed by Kumar is a unique take on one of Austen’s most moving pieces of literature. It offers a fascinating remoulding of these famous literary characters that allows us to enjoy their obsession with minutiae, and their anxieties about social rank, in this innovative piece of theatre to be staged in the Bishop’s Parlour at Abbotsford Convent later this month. Kumar’s 24 Carrot Productions is a company that aims to promote historically marginalised perspectives. It was formed with a view to re-imagine and re-invigorate our most loved classics for contemporary audiences. The Indian Sun catches up with Sri Lankan origin Kumar to talk about The Margins Of Persuasion, and more.
What inspired you to choose this “reimagined format” of The Margins Of Persuasion?
I wanted to present the story in the context of some of the social and cultural issues that were prominent at the time, things that Austen’s audience would have known about but are a bit removed from us today, things like war and the role of women in society.
What can the audience expect?
This is still a Jane Austen story! So we’ve got the costumes from that time, and the underlying story about people who care about each other but sometimes struggle to show it. It’s based on Jane Austen’s last complete novel—about regret as well as love.
But we’re also delving into some issues of the time that are still relevant—why do some people have more power than others in our world? Who should we listen to when we make decisions about our own lives? How does colonialism continue to impact our world and our choices? It’s a love story, but it’s also a commentary on gender and class and empire.
How is this different from the original book?
One of the most obvious things that is that we have had to cut out a bunch of characters! A novelist can write as many characters as she likes into a book, but we are limited with theatre in terms of the numbers of people we can have in a performance. (That’s one of the reasons we are drawing on the audiences members to stand in for some of the minor characters.)
But more significantly, I think, we have chosen not to just focus on the main characters from the book, who are all relatively wealthy and relatively privileged (whether they realise it or not). We have taken characters that were on the margins of the book or not specifically in the book (like servants) and tried to highlight their perspective as well as telling the original story.
“I love the immediacy of live performance and the feeling of anything can happen. I didn’t get much of a chance to be involved in theatre while I was studying medicine, but once I had started working and I had time for it, I found I wanted to go back to it”
When you say, “it places the audience right in the middle of the action,”, is this interactive theatre? Can you explain the format of the play?
It’s a 90-minute piece performed in the round, with a small audience. Some audience members may be spoken to or given the opportunity to walk through the performance as a background character, but they won’t be speaking, so it’s not interactive in that sense.
Are Austen’s works still relevant to life today? Or what makes her novels timeless?
I think it’s her characters and how specifically and beautifully she shows us the relationships between people. I think that makes her work relatable even today. We love the escapism of the romance and the time period—but I think under all of that are some really well-developed characters and ideas about how people interact. She touches on social issues, but it’s always based in fabulous and memorable characters.
For a doctor, how did your interest in theatre develop?
I’ve always been interested in theatre! I was the child that played at theatre with my younger brothers, rather than playing school or playing house. I love the immediacy of live performance and the feeling of anything can happen. I didn’t get much of a chance to be involved in theatre while I was studying medicine, but once I had started working and I had time for it, I found I wanted to go back to it. So, I did!
Creating a show can be daunting. What were the highs and lows?
It can be daunting indeed. But I love the process of writing, of rehearsing with actors and bringing things to life, figuring out different ways of seeing characters and different ways of trying to convey emotion. One of the difficulties over the last few years has obviously been around lockdowns and the pandemic. But we also have opportunities to make theatre more accessible and to invite digital audiences into our shows. So that’s a challenge but it’s an exciting one.
Support independent community journalism. Support The Indian Sun.
Follow The Indian Sun on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
There are many adaptations of Jane Austen’s works around the globe. Closer home, Melbourne-based Sharmini Kumar is set to showcase her adaptation of Austen’s final novel, Persuasion—demonstrating the enduring appeal of Austen’s wit & ideas. #TheIndianSunhttps://t.co/OpdOKc14WA
— The Indian Sun (@The_Indian_Sun) November 21, 2022
Donate To The Indian Sun
Dear Reader,The Indian Sun is an independent organisation committed to community journalism. We have, through the years, been able to reach a wide audience especially with the growth of social media, where we also have a strong presence. With platforms such as YouTube videos, we have been able to engage in different forms of storytelling. However, the past few years, like many media organisations around the world, it has not been an easy path. We have a greater challenge. We believe community journalism is very important for a multicultural country like Australia. We’re not able to do everything, but we aim for some of the most interesting stories and journalism of quality. We call upon readers like you to support us and make any contribution. Do make a DONATION NOW so we can continue with the volume and quality journalism that we are able to practice.
Thank you for your support.
Best wishes,
Team The Indian Sun
