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Jane Austen Society of Australia Adapting Mansfield Park for the stage
Mansfield Park is a very complex novel, difficult to confine to the time and space limitations of a three act play. I wanted an adaptation that stayed true to plot and character, compressing action rather than ignoring it, retaining depth of characterisation as much as possible. Since the only adaptation I could find oversimplified plot and turned the characters into ‘goodies’ on one side and ‘baddies’ on the other, my only option seemed to be to write the play myself. My first task was to confine the space. Much of this novel involves travelling, walking, riding – stuff that works well for film but not within the confines of a proscenium arch. Next I wanted to avoid numerous short, jumpy scenes – again much more appropriate for a film camera to catch, very disconcerting when trying to achieve continuity on a stage. The practicalities of time and cast also had to be addressed. No play which requires people to be seated and listening for more than two and a half hours will capture the attention of a 21st century audience. No director wants, or can afford, to work with a cast of more than 15, for a straight play (musicals are a different matter). In addressing these problems I first tackled the issue of place. Whilst everyone else moves about, Lady Bertram remains on her sofa for the entire novel, unless she ventures into the rose garden for a very short time, so I took Lady Bertram as my fixed point. The play is set in the common drawing room of Mansfield Park, but I also wanted to show the sophistication of London life and the squalor of Portsmouth. Both places threatened the security and outward serenity of Mansfield, so there are two brief scenes which contrast the solidity of the life Fanny wants with the precarious existence that could be hers if London or Portsmouth triumphed. Having made these decisions about setting, some of the action which took place at the parsonage or at Sotherton was either transferred to the common sitting room, or discussed as off-stage events. There was no trouble in bringing rehearsals for Lovers’ Vows into the sitting room as they were taking place all over the house and it seemed perfectly natural that the outrageous flirting of Maria and Henry, and the tender courtship of Edmund and Mary, should take place in the room where Lady Bertram was dozing and Mrs Norris was fussing. The next thing was to decide on how to economise in matters of cast. I quickly decided that a ten year old Fanny who changed into an eighteen year old Fanny was not an area I wanted to explore. The play begins with Fanny as a young woman – her background is easily explained in the action of the play. I organised scenes so that Lady Bertram and Mrs Price can be played by the same person, but this is not essential. Mr Yates and Mr Price were both noted for their noise so they become ‘noises off’. Dr and Mrs Grant are spoken of but never seen. William is always just about to arrive or has just left. All of these devices would, I feel sure, have been approved by Jane Austen as some quite influential characters in her novels are never given a direct voice (e.g. Robert Martin and Mrs Churchill in Emma). After making such decisions the play becomes possible to cast having six male and six female characters. The play is written in three acts with three scenes in each act. The Georgians would, I think, have approved such balance, although I can really not claim praise for the symmetry – the structure of the novel provided the foundation for the play. I think that the greatest challenge in adapting Mansfield Park was to present the strong moral message of the novel so that it would be both understandable and palatable to a modern audience. I was determined not to lose this core message in an attempt to pander to those who think that Jane Austen is a romantic writer. I hope you will enjoy the beautiful sets and elegant costumes that an adaptation of Austen gives us an opportunity to admire but this is a story which is uncompromising in its morality and shows us that Austen was a realist who understood all too well the frailties of human nature. My intention in writing and directing this play is not to make it a substitute for reading the novel (of course!), but to be an encouragement to revisit the novel for those who know it and an introduction to the complexities and delights of Austen’s work for those unfamiliar with it.
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