The Austen Assizes (by Birchall & James) on YouTube

Five weeks ago, I had the pleasure of giving a rave review....

http://sharpelvessociety.blogspot.com/2012/10/2012-jasna-agm-in-brooklyn-diana.html

....to the performance at the 2012 JASNA Annual General Meeting in Brooklyn of "The Austen Assizes", a playlet (actually a play-ella), written with an ear exquisitely tuned to the Austen style. as described by co-author (and good friend) Diana Birchall.

I am now very pleased to be able to follow up with a link to the YouTube video that Diana and her co-author, Syrie James, have skillfully edited, in order to convey to the world, in 15 minutes, the essence of what had the live audience rocking with laughter for nearly an hour:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-0VMPMrWzg&feature=youtu.be) 

This is far away from my doing a good turn for a good friend. This playlet is truly something remarkable. I just watched it, and found it was just as funny (LOL funny) as it was to watch it in person with a few hundred other Janeites.


While most of the (amateur) performers were wonderfully pitch perfect in sustaining the broad farcical tone, it became clearer to me upon rewatching that the comic writing was truly first rate, and far far above amateur.





In my opinion, this is absolutely NPR-worthy and BBC-worthy RIGHT NOW, and will be even more so when the P&P Bicentennial starts in a month and a half.

So I urge everyone reading this blog who take the 15 minutes to watch the video, to make this go viral worldwide, so that news of this wonderful bit of Austen-inspired comedy will receive its just deserts---which is to have Janeites chuckling all over the world watching it!

Cheers, and still more cheers,

ARNIE
@JaneAustenCode on Twitter