Photos: THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JANE AUSTEN, ABRIDGED at The New Vic Theatre

Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara present the West Coast premiere of The Complete Works of Jane Austen, Abridged, written by Jessica Bedford, Kathryn MacMillan, Charlotte Northeast, and Meghan Winch and directed by Robert Kelley. Check out photos of the show.

The limited engagement is presented at The New Vic Theatre as part of ETC’s 47th season, “Truth and Illusion.” ETC is Santa Barbara’s only professional theatre company and a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT).

The production distills the stories, characters, and themes from Jane Austen’s novels into a fast-paced theatrical format exploring the author’s wit, romance, and humor. The piece reimagines Austen’s protagonists in a contemporary performance style.

"Whether you're a die-hard Austen devotee who can quote Pride and Prejudice by heart, or you've never picked up one of her novels, The Complete Works of Jane Austen, Abridged is going to win you over. This production captures everything that makes Austen timeless—the razor-sharp wit, the swoon-worthy romance, the incredible heroines—but delivers it at lightning speed with laugh-out-loud comedy that feels completely fresh and modern,” said Scott DeVine, ETC's executive artistic director. “It's the perfect gateway for younger audiences discovering Austen for the first time, while longtime fans will love seeing their favorite moments cleverly reimagined. And I couldn't be more excited to have Robert Kelley directing. Kelley and I collaborated for twelve seasons at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, and I've been trying to bring him to Santa Barbara ever since I joined ETC. His comic sensibility and love for Jane Austen’s work are exactly what this show needs—he knows how to honor the source material while making it accessible, hilarious, and utterly entertaining for everyone in the room."