Los Altos High School’s Broken Box performed their first full-length show of the year, “Pride and Prejudice” last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. 

The play is an adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel that follows the story of the Bennet family, specifically its daughters and their various efforts — or lack of effort — in finding husbands. It explores several romance stories, culminating in the unlikely love story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, who must both overcome their own pride and prejudice to accept their love for each other.

To bring Regency England to the stage of the Eagle Theater, actors had to learn British accents and wear rehearsal garments to immerse themselves in the mannerisms of their old-time characters, acting teacher and play director Lisa Battle said. 

Senior Parker McCabe, who plays Charlotte Lucas, said that the cast researched the historical context of the show and the mannerisms of Regency England to ensure historical accuracy, taking care of even the form of their curtseys and bows.

In addition to creating a detailed and accurate play, Jamieson said that the director’s vision for Pride and Prejudice was to uniquely demonstrate and highlight that the show is an adaptation of a classic book.

“It’s difficult to adapt an entire novel into a two hour show, so I wanted to pay homage to the fact that this is a story that lives in a reader’s imagination,” said Battle in an email.

The set was covered in old newspapers and storybook illustrations of scene backdrops were projected onto the stage to mimic the appearance of being drawn on by hand. 

“I think it’s a really unique take that [Battle] is trying to do in order to bring creativity to what could be just very strictly historical and still keep elements of the book,” Jamieson said.

McCabe said that the cast was especially prepared to perform this season, even finishing the blocking for the show a week in advance. Regardless, the nerves were high, considering this is Broken Box’s first full show of the year, said McCabe. 

Audience member and sophomore Stephanie Yen-Ko didn’t notice the nerves and left impressed by the performance quality from a high school group. Certain scenes even felt like watching a Netflix show, she said.

“They all worked so hard and it paid off!” Battle wrote. “I hope [the audience] enjoy[ed] the story and celebrate[d] the effort and creativity these young artists put into it.”