How to depict Jane Austen? 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the writer’s birth, and, much like every figure elected into the literary canon, it can be difficult to create a version of her that feels different from the myriad of others populating the cultural zeitgeist. A surrealist reimagining of her life was not on my bingo card, but I’m a simple man. I enjoy surprises. And I absolutely adore surrealist theatre.

Adapting the script from the 2024 student production of the same name, Emma follows Jane Austen as she attempts to write her new novel in 1800s Bath. This isn’t the bold, witty savant of prose that we’re used to. This Austen, portrayed astutely by Kohuné Aziz-Kamara, is one at the mercy of her imagination – timid, frustrated by her overbearing family, and spiralling in romantic self-doubt. She’s in her late 20s, guys, her life is basically over. Enter Emma. Emma is Austen’s fictional character, stepping from page to stage to ‘encourage’ Jane to finish writing her story, brought to life by Sophia O’Callaghan.

“I was struck by the idea that writing, in this context, seems to function as an analogy for addiction”

The pair’s dynamic is intriguing – laced with manipulation, mystique, and even tenderness – but the play remains somewhat nebulous regarding the precise nature of their relationship. There are moments where the affection between them seems to be genuine, but the hints of coercion which pervade Emma’s dialogue seem to discourage the audience from sympathising with her. Toward the end, I was struck by the idea that writing, in this context, seems to function as an analogy for addiction. Consequently, a part of me was drawn to the possibility that this Jane could deviate from history, and leave the story of Emma unfinished to repair the fractured relationships around her. The play’s ending, therefore, feels a little convoluted, but the final 10 minutes are so theatrically bold and emotionally resonant that any lingering dissatisfaction was easy to forgive. Leaping from one cathartic moment to the next, the play ironically finds its creative peak in its closing scenes, leaving me to wonder what might have emerged had it embraced its surrealist impulses from the very beginning.

Saying this, I do think the effectiveness of these moments were sometimes undercut by the show’s staging. In an already confined Corpus Playroom, depicting characters moving between places – and sometimes between characters – is no small feat. Yet, I’d be lying if I claimed I didn’t occasionally struggle to follow what was happening on stage: whether it was which character an actor was portraying, or which setting the scene was meant to be taking place in. Scenes where the characters sat on the floor proved equally frustrating, as much of the action became nearly invisible unless you were lucky enough to be in the first few rows.

“I’d be lying if I claimed I didn’t occasionally struggle to follow what was happening on stage”

Despite this inconsistency, the performances do shine here, especially among the production’s side characters. After delivering one of my favourite performances of the year in By The Way, Meet Vera Stark, Edward Badege returns to CamDram for another highly charismatic role as George Austen, a character which takes great advantage of his excellent comic timing. The show’s production team should honestly spend the rest of the budget tipping him and Polly Bigham for every laugh they elicit from the audience: God knows how much they had to fight for them with mine. And then we get to the charisma machine himself, Thomas Lefroy, played by an electric Rosie Nicol, who might be the closest thing Cambridge has to Ryan Gosling. Watch the play, you’ll see why. It would be remiss of me not to reiterate the outstanding quality of the costume design across the board, but particularly Emma’s dress — Jemima Proctor, you will always be famous.

The Corpus Playroom secures another strong show in a year filled with exceptional productions. Despite its struggles with translating its surrealism to a limited space, and the occasional gaps in its narrative, the show has a lot of good stuff to offer, and with a run time of 90 minutes, it soars by. A strong show, even if it takes a while to truly feel like it approaches Austen-esque heights.

Emma is showing at the Corpus Playroom from Tuesday 20th to Saturday 24th May at 7:00 pm.

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