The Sydney Theatre Production of Hubris and Humiliation, directed by Dean Bryant and written by Lewis Treston, is a delightful piece of Australian camp; a sort of amalgam between Jane Austen, Muriel’s Wedding, My Fair Lady and RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Clever twist on classic themes: Coinciding with Sydney's World Pride celebrations, the new STC play Hubris and Humiliation includes a nod to the beloved Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice.
Roman Delo plays Elliott Delaney, an ingenue and Dymocks assistant store manager, who is pining after his best friend Warren (Ryan Panizza). When his mother Bernice (Celia Ireland) receives an eviction notice, Elliot moves to Sydney to try to find a rich husband (and open up a new Dymocks discount store).
Meanwhile, his sister Paige (Melissa Kahraman) is uninspired by her romance with Brendon (Matthew Cooper), until she meets new romantic prospect Juki (Henrietta Enyonam Amevor). Cue laugh-out-loud shenanigans and the inspired use of a huge inflatable dancing man.
The supporting cast is a clear highlight of this clever production. Every character is a scene-stealer in their own right. Paige, Elliott’s Body-Combat-loving brash sister, is a particular highlight, as is Andrew McFarlane’s camp uncle (guncle) Roland, with his wardrobe full of Camilla kaftans and nineteenth-century frocks.
Contemporary adaptations of Austen’s novels are now ubiquitous. Perhaps the most infamous is Amy Heckerling’s film Clueless (1995), a masterful retelling of Emma (1815) in which Austen’s Emma Woodhouse becomes the Beverly Hills teenager Cher (Alicia Silverstone).
Queer comedy and classic themes
More recently, the Netflix film Fire Island (2022) rewrites Pride and Prejudice as a modern romantic comedy set amongst a group of gay men on summer vacation. Jane Austen has become a popular cultural icon in her own right; her works have been adapted and rewritten in almost every format for almost any purpose that one could possibly imagine. Jane Austen simply always sells. It feels right, then, that Sydney now has its own very queer version of Pride and Prejudice, and one that is premiering just as Sydney hosts World Pride for the first time.
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Hubris and Humiliation is not quite an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, however. It does feature a matchmaking mother—Mrs Bennet becomes the self-proclaimed bogan Bernice Delaney—an embarrassing suitor called Colin, and a handsome and arrogant man hilariously named William D’Cray. However, otherwise it is more of a homage to the spirit of Austen’s novels than the plot.
If you watch carefully, however, you’ll see a copy of Pride and Prejudice appears on stage at one point, and the set is staged to look like a Regency ballroom. Certainly, the tone of Hubris and Humiliation is in keeping with the knowing wry comedy of Austen’s most bright and sparkling novel. As Mr Bennet remarks in Pride and Prejudice, “for what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?”
What is a perfect match?
Appropriately for an Austen pastiche, the play begins and ends with a wedding. The opening scene beautifully sets the stage for the action to come, cleverly parodying the awkward first dance of many an Australian wedding.
There’s even a ball scene: in this case, a drag Regency costume party hosted by Baz Luhrmann. The staging of this scene is brilliant, with the intricate Regency-style dance allowing every character to take their turn in the spotlight. The scene is reminiscent of Elizabeth and Darcy’s dance at the Netherfield Ball in the beloved 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, but in this case all the men are dressed in drag as Regency ladies, and their partners are mannequins in suits. Very Sydney.
What I found refreshing is that Warren’s desire to marry a rich man is not treated with derision. While Elliott realises that money is not enough for a happy marriage, Warren is never shamed for aspiring to a certain lifestyle. Like Jane Austen, the play understands that money isn’t everything, but it certainly helps.
In fact, the play’s definition of love ultimately comes close to the way love is represented in Austen’s novels. The person you should be with, Hubris and Humiliation suggests, is the person who is the best fit for you. If you want to live in a house in Kangaroo Point and own one of those fridges that makes ice, well then you should find someone who wants the same thing.
Hubris and Humiliation is smart, funny, joyful, and features a derrière au naturel that truly deserves a 10. What more could you possibly want? Actual gasp.
* Content note: The play contains strong language, suicide references, theatrical haze, infrequent nudity and e-cigarettes.
Hubris and Humiliation is playing at the Sydney Theatre Company's Wharf 1 Theatre until March 4. Tickets here.
