Penny Ashton (Hot Pink Bits, Good Morning, Heartland Kiwi Gold) mashes up Beethoven, bonnets and big balls to present her one-woman show Promise and Promiscuity in Arrowtown this month.
Follow the fortunes of Miss Elspeth Slowtree as she battles literary snobbery, her mother's nerves and cousin Horatio, all armed with superior wit, blushing countenance and generally being quite bright.
Balls will be attended, crosses will be stitched and manners will be minded, all with not one ankle in sight.
Miss Ashton has stolen Miss Austen's best lines to bring this musical to life with an authentic twist.
As Elizabeth Bennett herself says: ''Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can.''
Featuring classical music reworked by Robbie Ellis and lyrics by Ashton, Promise and Promiscuity delivers Penny Ashton unchaperoned to the provinces.
• She performs at the Arrowtown Athenaeum Hall, on June 19. The Arts on Tour New Zealand-presented show starts at 7pm. Tickets cost $20.
