The Watsons, a new play by Laura Wade is adapted from the unfinished novel by Jane Austen and directed by Samuel West. Presented by Chichester Festival Theatre and Menier Chocolate Factory, it runs at Menier Chocolate Factory from 20th September to 16th November.
Cut off by her rich, aunt and dumped back in the family home, 19 year old Emma Watson and her sisters must marry, fast. If not, they face poverty, spinsterhood, or worse: an eternity with their uncouth brother and his unpleasant wife.
Lucky for them, there is an abundance of potential suitors to dance with, from flirtatious Tom Musgrave to castle-owning Lord Osborne, who’s as awkward as he is rich.
There’s a problem though: Jane Austen never finished the story. What can characters do when their author abandons them? Who will write Emma’s happy ending now?
The Artiscape spoke to Paksie Vernon about her role in The Watsons.
What attracted you to the script?
Vernon: It’s so rare to get a script through that really excites you. Similarly to how the audience feel watching it (hopefully!), I was genuinely excited to find out what happened next. Also? Laura has such a brilliant command of the craft of writing, which means as an actor, I have the most solid foundations to start working on my character; which, again, is rare and really exciting.
How did you research for your role?
Vernon: We went on a couple of field trips as a company and Sam set us a few specific character research tasks in rehearsals – my character Elizabeth is a carer and housekeeper so I researched domestic life for women of the time. But I think its important to leave the research aside after a certain point. Whatever is useful will have infiltrated your mind – I think the most important thing is to try and play a person, not an idea.
Can you tell us about the character you play?
Vernon: I play Elizabeth. She’s the eldest Watson sister who’s taken on the responsibility of caring for her dying father. She’s unmarried and well past the ideal marital age so pretty much resigned to her life as a spinster. I see her as a bit of a dormant volcano of repressed emotion and desire.
What are the challenges in playing this character?
Vernon: There are some characters that you just feel an instant connection to – Elizabeth is one of those for me. So there hasn’t been too many challenges to be honest.
What do you think the audience will take away this production?
Vernon: I think audiences will leave feeling energized and elated. It’s a fresh take on Austen and very much a show for 2019.
The Watsons is at Menier Chocolate Factory until 16th November.
