THIS 250th anniversary year of the birth of Jane Austen must have seemed the perfect time to tour PD James’s murder mystery sequel to Austen’s most famous book, Pride and Prejudice. The James novel, published in 2011, was a pastiche in Austen style, and was very successfully adapted for television, getting a Christmas showing in 2013.

In time for the anniversary celebrations, the artistic directors of The Mill at Sonning invited Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel (fresh from their successes with The Da Vinci Code and The Girl on the Train) to adapt the book for the stage. Now that version is touring the UK, and comes to Bath, with the city’s strong Jane Austen connections, as part of the tour. It all seemed very promising.

Sadly this adaptation, as directed for the tour by Jonathan O’Boyle, lacks the style of Austen and the guile of James. A clever set by Sean Cavanagh and period costumes designed by Natalie Titchener don’t cover the leaden script, which seems bent on describing the benefits of female independence rather than demonstrating them. There is a lot of marching on and off the stage.

It really is a great shame, as the actors, led by Todd Boyce as the irascible Sir Selwyn Hardcastle, James Bye as Darcy and the handsome-but-quite-unnecessarily-stripped Sam Woodhams as the dastardly Wickham, do their best to enliven the proceedings. Poor Jamie-Rose Duke, making her professional debut in the leading role of Elizabeth Darcy, was saddled with lengthy explanatory speeches and professions of love quite unsuited to the time.

You might not think it was possible to overplay Lady Catherine De Bourgh, but Sarah Berger had to do just that. Sean Rigby, beloved by Endeavour audiences, made a convincing fist of the dependably dull Col Fitzwilliam, with David Osmond and Celia Cruwys-Finnigan as the lovestruck musicians.

Thanks to PD James, the story did have mystery and tension, and lots of twists and turns to confuse the audience. I really wish I could have read Jane Austen’s review of this play, which continues touring until 13th September after its run in Bath.

GP-W