*all Production Shots c/o Pamela Raith*
This week I was delighted to invited to see Death Comes to Pemberley at the Theatre Royal in Brighton, one of my favourite local theatres.
Death Comes to Pemberley is an exciting murder Mystery based on the novel by P.D James which is an unofficial sequel to Pride & Prejudice. Set 6 years after the original story and featuring many of your favourite characters from Jane Austen’s book. This brand new production debuted in May 2025 and is adapted Duncan Abel and Rachel Wagstaff, the acclaimed wiring team behind stage adaptions: The Girl on the Train and The Da Vinci Code.
I was very excited to see this production on stage. I’ve been a fan of Pride & Prejudice ever since I was very young and watched the 1995 mini series. That’s my Jane Austen fangirl origin story, I believe I was only around 6/7 but I just fell in love with the characters, the story and the romance of the regency era. I remember particularly enjoying the dancing and I’m happy to say there is some dancing in the stage version of Death Comes to Pemberley!
I do actually remember watching the 2013 adaptation of Death Comes to Pemberley on the BBC and really enjoying it but I had forgotten some of the details and I purposefully didn’t refresh my memory on the storyline before seeing the show so I’d have a few plot surprises along the way!
It was such an exciting show to watch, you’re plunged straight back into the Jane Austen world but immediately sense a dark twist is on the horizon. A who-dun-it unfurls with twists and turns that keeps you guessing right up until the reveal (no spoilers!). The murder happens early on in the plot which keeps you on edge looking to each of the characters for clues throughout.
The sets & staging are beautiful, particularly how Pemberley woods was done, and I even found myself having a jump scare during the storm! I was sat 3 rows from the front so had a great view of the details of the sets and costumes. I really liked the piano being on stage during most of the scenes and Georgiana Darcy playing. The casting was really well done, James Bye (Eastenders) was a stand out for me as Mr Darcy, I really liked Jamie-Rose Duke’s fierce yet elegantly poised portrayal of Elizabeth Darcy and Sarah Berger as Lady Catherine De Bourgh had us all in hysterics! Many of them were multi-roleplaying as well, which I didn’t even notice until later on in the show. The costumes were beautiful, Georgiana outfit and the first outfit that Elizabeth wears were particular favourites of mine and Mr Darcy’s costumes I found were quite reminiscent of some of the outfits his character wore in the 1995 series adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. The experience felt all the more authentic being seated in the Theatre Royal Brighton which dates back to 1807, it’s auditorium representing regency architecture and one of the oldest continuously operating theatres un the country.
Check out Death Comes to Pemberley Tour for more information on the production and where you can see it and head over to Theatre Royal Brighton to see the wide range of pre and post West End touring plays and musicals, ballets and comedy’s that they have coming up.
*I was kindly invited to see this production by the Theatre Royal in Brighton however all views, as always, are my own.
