Review: Emma. Essential Surrey Website, September, 2025

★★★★ (4 out of 5)

In a modern-day adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved novel Emma, playwright Ava Pickett and director Christopher Haydon go big on laughs in this hilarious, crowd-pleasing rom-com, playing at Kingston’s Rose Theatre until October 11^th.

Pickett, an award-winning playwright and this season’s Writer in Residence at The National, adheres to Austen’s depiction of Emma Woodhouse as a meddling matchmaker, prone to boldly giving blunt and unkind critiques of her family and friends’ lives.

But, Regency England this isn’t. In a move that adds to the joyful exuberance of it all, the play is set-in modern-day Essex, where the family gathers to celebrate the upcoming wedding of Emma’s sister Isabella. Emma’s father is a wheeler-dealer type, Mrs Bates is now a beautician offering tans and waxes, and Emma’s best friend Hattie is working the tills at the local Coop.

Emma is a complicated, at times unlikeable character. Here, Pickett lets her off somewhat, giving her an excuse for her unkind behaviour: she’s failed her degree at Oxford and is back home, furious at the world, incensed that everyone seems to want so little from their lives: Why is Hattie going on dates with a boy from school? Why does Isabella want a honeymoon in Magaluf? What’s the fixation with fake tans?

It's a well-cast ensemble piece (casting by Juliet Horsley) featuring four actors making their professional debuts, including, remarkably, Amelia Kenworthy, who’s on stage in almost every scene, and Sofia Oxenham who plays the sympathetic and down-to-earth Hattie. Whilst both actors need to project more (although, is it really a criticism that the ends of their lines were drowned out by laughter?) they deliver strong performances.

Less successful are the male love interests, who don’t have a lot to work with and seem to be little more than foils for the more developed, interesting women characters. It’s not until the second half of the play that we see much of Emma’s love interest George Knightly, played by Kit Young, and begin to understand why they might be drawn to each other.

But it's the more seasoned actors that really shine in this play. Nigel Lindsay is an endearing Mr Woodhouse, wanting the best for his daughters whilst secretly hoping for a romance of his own whilst Lucy Benjamin (perhaps best known for her role in Eastenders), in an extraordinarily physical performance, is a comic tour de force as Mrs Bates. Benjamin garners both laughs and sympathy as she falls downstairs, is pushed into cupboards and gets the worst of Emma’s sharp tongue.

At 2 hours 20 minutes the play is about half an hour too long. In the second half, there’s a wordy, syrupy speech from Mr Woodhouse which slows things down unnecessarily, but, once that’s out of the way, the play reverts to being joyful, uplifting and funny.

The audience loved it. I loved it. See it while you can.

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This article originally appeared the Essential Surrey website, September, 2025: https://www.essentialsurrey.co.uk/theatre-arts/theatre-reviews/emma-the-rose-kingston/