The flyers advertising Regent Park Theatre’s production of Pride and Prejudice, currently playing at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, describe Jane Austen’s most famous novel as her “ultimate romantic comedy”. And indeed, Simon Reade’s adaptation does seem closer to a modern rom-com than to Austen’s elegant and witty exploration of 18th-century society.

The production succeeded in the aim of getting laughs. In particular, the antics of the highly strung and melodramatic Mrs Bennet – played with great relish by Felicity Montagu – almost brought the house down. However, some tender and serious moments were sacrificed in the name of comedy: Mr Darcy’s first proposal to Elizabeth Bennet prompted nothing more than a wave of laughter from the audience, as did the eventual engagement of Jane Bennet and Mr Bingley.

This was not the only point where adapting Austen’s extraordinarly subtle, sharp and stylish novel proved challenging. One of the chief joys of the story lies in the contrast between the five Bennet sisters. In this production, however, Jane Bennet, played by Hollie Edwin, seems as silly and frivolous as Kitty and Lydia (Anna Crichlow and Mari Izzard). Kirsty Rider (Caroline Bingley) makes a good attempt at restrained hauteur, but it is only really Doña Croll (Lady Catherine De Bourgh) who fully carries off the deportment and air of an 18th-century lady. Croll is by far the stand-out star of the show, with a superb air of arrogance.

Mr Darcy and Elizabeth, (Benjamin Dilloway and Tafline Steen) both did well in capturing some elements of these complex characters. Steen has Elizabeth’s pertness and wit down pat, while Dilloway has perfected the awkwardness of the silently suffering Darcy. Jordan Mifsud’s puppy dog enthusiasm was excellent for the role of Mr Bingley, and Steven Meo pulled out all the stops for the smarmy Mr Collins, although I felt a higher level of restraint might have been more effective. The refined accents of Charlotte Palmer, who played Elizabeth’s aunt Mrs Gardiner, and Daniel Abbott, who was absolutely perfect as Mr Wickham, made the other actors seem overly melodramatic by comparison.

Despite being one of the main characters, Wickham is only on stage for about five minutes, which perhaps sums up the main problem with this adaptation – Pride and Prejudice is just not really suitable for the stage. The slow unfolding of relationships, gradual processes of self discovery, and the complexity of the characters and events, are much better expressed in novel form. Despite these inherent difficulties, Reade’s adaptation could still have been better. Some scenes, such as Mr Bennet’s final conversation with Elizabeth, were needlessly long, while changes were made that seemed perhaps unnecessary and, at times, incongruous with the sequence and tone of events in the novel.

Some moments worked very well on stage. The first dance between Elizabeth and Mr Darcy was exquisitely judged. The set was also ingenious, especially the rotating balcony, which proved a dynamic feature. Some of the most successful moments of the play were made possible by the extraordinary set – Elizabeth and Mr Wickham slipping together between the arches during their tête-à-tête at Netherfield Ball, or Elizabeth admiring the portrait gallery at Pemberley, when she first begins to doubt her estimation of Mr Darcy’s character.

It is unfortunate that this comic production  sacrificed some of Austin’s subleties for humour. On the whole this comic caper through Pride and Prejudice was an amusing and undemanding night at the theatre.