Brisbane actress Tallulah Grey steps into the role of her dreams playing Elinor Dashwood in Jane Austen’s classic comedy-of-manners, ‘Sense And Sensibility’.
As a long-time fan of both the novel and Ang Lee’s 1995 film adaptation, Tallulah didn’t think twice when the opportunity arose to portray the highly reserved main character. “I didn’t have any reservations actually, this was a dream come true,” she says. “Emma Thompson who played Elinor in the Ang Lee version – she’s one of my heroes – so playing a character she has previously played is a huge opportunity for me. I am a little nervous, I normally play comic relief and this is the first time I’ve had a role that really slips away from that.”
Austen’s seminal tale tells the story of Elinor who as a reserved and sensible person represents ‘sense’, and her outgoing, romantically-inclined sister Marianne who represents ‘sensibility’.
“I was actually really happy to hear when the cast was announced... My partner-in-crime playing Marianne is Sasha Barclay. We've worked together before, and during auditions we were my dream-team combination.
“She’s so perfect for Marianne and I hope I’m bringing my own strengths to Elinor. We work really well together to show the different characters and personality traits.”
After the sisters are sent to the country to live with distant relatives, they experience the effervescent highs and crushing lows of life and romance, each handling their exploits in respective characteristic fashion.
“It’s a pure story, and it’s got a lot of heart, with heroines who both have their different strengths and weaknesses. A lot gets thrown at them throughout the story and they handle it in their own ways, and the great thing about that is neither method is necessarily wrong, they’re just different.
“From the beginning of the story, Elinor is all ‘sense’ and Marianne is all ‘sensibility’, but by the end they both have changed. And it’s not that they were wrong before, but they’ve both grown in very different ways. So there’s a little bit of ‘sensibility’ in Elinor and there’s a little bit more ‘sense’ in Marianne. I think it’s a great story for character development.”
First published in 1811, ‘Sense And Sensibility’ remains one of Austen’s most popular works, alongside ‘Pride And Prejudice'. Asked why she thinks the story retains such appeal in modern times, Tallulah says it largely comes down to the author’s ability to connect emotionally with her readers.
“One of the big things, and it’s not just ‘Sense And Sensibility’, it’s all of Jane Austen’s stories, is how much they resonate with people. It’s not just the romance, and it’s not just the humour, or the satire, or the social commentary of the day. There’s going to be people who come to see the romance between Elinor and Edward, or they’re going to be there to love to hate Willoughby, things like that.
“I think it’s a loving retelling of the novel,” Tallulah says of the Brisbane Arts Theatre production. “I think we’ve done a great job keeping as close to the original material as possible and I’m really looking forward to seeing what the Jane Austen Society particularly has to say about it.”
‘Sense And Sensibility’ performs Brisbane Arts Theatre 11 June - 23 July.
