By Galen Simmons

In Kate Hamill’s adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel, Sense and Sensibility, for the 2025 Stratford Festival stage, gossip is more than a plot driver and social regulator, it is a force of nature.

Though gossip plays several key roles in Austen’s book – advancing the story with half truths and assumptions, and acting as a form of social surveillance, particularly for women – in this production, gossip is personified by way of the five garishly dressed and outrageously intrusive gossips (Christopher Allen, Jenna-Lee Hyde, Celia Aloma, Jesse Gervais and Julie Lumsden).

Ever-present throughout the play, they wait on the sidelines for juicy tidbits of information – true or false – so they can spread them far and wide, often with unintended and dramatic consequences which, of course, lead to even more gossip.

The gossips step in as hilarious dogs and horses when the story calls for it, they interact with the other characters on stage when necessary but seem invisible to them when not, and, in some cases, they literally portray nature itself, including one scene in which they are the wind and the rain, buffeting Marianne Dashwood (Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane) from all sides when she is caught in a storm during one of her strolls.

And that force of gossip seems to influence everything the other characters on stage do, from their very movement as dining-room chairs and their occupants swirl to the flow of catty dinner conversation, to the hurt and betrayal felt by Elinor Dashwood (Jessica B. Hill) when she learns of Edward Ferrars’ (Thomas Duplessie) engagement to Lucy Steele (Jade V. Robinson) or the disappointment felt by Colonel Brandon (Shane Carty) as he hears the false rumours of Marianne’s engagement to John Willoughby (Andrew Chown).

There is a wonderful and chaotic rhythm to the gossip as it pushes this classic tale to its natural conclusion, a rhythm mirrored by the play’s score, which retains that old-English, string-instrumental sound, but pairs it with a driving drum beat and an almost modern, electronic and somewhat dissonant texture.

The costumes, too, add to that chaotic feeling. While the characters from Austen’s story are dressed in well-appointed, period costumes, those of the gossips are flashy, less modest and downright ridiculous.

Speaking of costumes, the quick, onstage costume changes that transform actors like Robinson and Glynnis Ranney from Dashwoods to Steeles or signify a change in demeanor for characters like Elinor and Marianne, are done seamlessly and in such a way that lends itself beautifully to the advancement of the plot.

Robinson, Ranney, Chown, Sara Farb, Duplessie, Seana McKenna, Steve Ross and Carty should all be commended for their ability to perform as two characters in this production, slipping effortlessly between their often comically contrasting personas throughout.

Anyone who appreciates the awesome power of gossip and its ability to rip relationships to shreds should add this production of Sense and Sensibility to their list of plays to see this season.

Sense and Sensibility runs at the Festival Theatre until Oct. 25.