REVIEW: SENSE & SENSIBILITY by Thick as Thieves Theatre Company at the Arches Lane Theatre 10 - 27 September 2026
“a production that lifelong lover of theatre, Jane Austen herself, would probably have enjoyed.” ★★★★★
Walking into the theatre you are greeted by rows of seats decorated with white flower arrangements at each end, creating the image of church pews decorated for a wedding. But weddings, romantic love, and the pursuit of marriage is only one small part of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. This production, with its multi-rolling ensemble, witty and well-paced dialogue, and engaging involvement of the audience, captures the true essence of Austen’s comedy of manners.
In the show’s opening musical number, the company recounts the Dashwoods’ misfortune: their father has died and their half-brother inherited almost everything. They are four women (Mrs Dashwood, Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret Dashwood) left without adequate independent financial means to sustain themselves. Leaving their beloved home, Norland Park, and moving (on the kindness of their relatives) to Barton cottage, the sisters find themselves unmoored in a society where marriage is economy. In the adaptation of a novel about society – its expectations, sight, restraint and sensibilities – the company’s efforts to bring the audience into the storytelling is particularly effective. With the help of a few hats and wigs, various members of the audience are transformed into peripheral characters of the show. A particularly humorous episode occurred when Marianne Dashwood (Laura Cooper-Jones) approached postman Thomas asking if anything had come in for her. “Yes?” he replied (nothing had), and when he was approached again later in the show, the audience member replied, “I don’t know,” to much laughter.
Thick as Thieves’s production lets Austen’s dialogue and narration shine, supplementing it with dialogue as lively and accessible as hers. The production is at times farcical and at others deeply touching, which made for a thoroughly enjoyable watching experience. The flexibility of the set must also be commended. With a story that spans multiple houses and corners of the UK, and an ensemble playing up to four characters each, it was striking to see how simple changes – one flip of a stage set or the replacing of a family portrait for another with suspiciously similar looking subjects – could suddenly situate the Dashwoods in completely different circumstances.
Thick as Thieves’s adaptation of Sense and Sensibility takes the omniscient narrator of the novel and meshes that with the liveness of theatre, to create a production the lifelong lover of theatre, Jane Austen herself, would probably have enjoyed.
SENSE & SENSIBILITY by Thick as Thieves Theatre Company at the Arches Lane Theatre, 10-27 September 2026
By Jane Austen
Adapted & Directed by Nicky Diss
Company:
Cast
Laura Cooper-Jones - Marianne Dashwood, Anne Steele and Mrs Ferrars
Thomas Judd - Edward Ferrars, John Willoughby, John Dashwood and Mrs Jennings
Grace Kelly Miller - Elinor Dashwood and Sir John Middleton
Laura Smithers - Fanny Dashwood, Mrs Palmer, Lucy Steele and Margaret Dashwood
Kaysha Woollery - Mrs Dashwood, Colonel Brandon, Mr Palmer and Robert Ferrars
Creatives
Director & Adaptation: Nicky Diss
Producer: Thomas Judd
Associate Producer: Sarah Gain
Composer & Musical Director: David Knight
Costume Designer: Grace Kelly Miller
Lighting Designer: Dylan Lowe
DSM: Dan Cox
Tickets and other information:
Arches Lane Theatre (8 Arches Lane, Nine Elms, London SW11 8AB)
10 - 27 September 2026
Tuesday - Saturday at 7.30pm
Saturday Matinee at 2.30pm
Sunday at 5.00pm
Tickets
£20 - 30 / Previews £15
Social Media Details
FB: thickasthievestheatre / X: @thickthieves / Insta: @alwaysthickasthieves
Photography credit: KEE Visions
