Review – Heartbreak Productions Emma

Review of Heartbreak Productions Emma in Sheffield Botanical Gardens.

If you’ve ever strolled through the Botanical Gardens of a summer’s eve, then you will know just how perfect a backdrop it is for an outdoor performance. Said performance, by Heartbreak Productions, was a witty romp through Jane Austen’s novel Emma. The cast of six, clad in heaving of bosom empire line dresses and watering of eye tight breaches, effortlessly brought Georgian Highbury to Sheffield and the sun even shone for most of the outing.

The theme of Romanticism in art dovetailed with the art of romanticism that underpinned the performance, creating a story within a story. My favourite bit was heavy on the Kenneth Williams-esque slapstick and innuendo.

With audience participation aplenty, I nervously hid my crisps from the actors, though their extravagant tastes for macarons and red wine probably meant my quavers were safe.

As the evening drew near and thunder rumbled overhead, the heavens opened, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the cast or the audience. Or passers–by/potential hecklers who paid the greatest compliment by stopping to watch the performance.

When the performance finished, the intimate tone that had been created almost saw us help the cast to pack up. If only to get another glimpse of those tight trousers.